A light purple glass vial, with a large belly and a small mouth like a lotus bud waiting to be released, and the bottle cap made of sterling silver is the only threaded mouth in the world. Cover with a cork stopper and screw on the cap to prevent water from leaking.

The wall of the bottle is clear and transparent, the jade is smooth and clean, and there is not a single porosity in sight. In your hand, you can clearly see the perfume mixed with gold and pearl powder shaking in the bottle. Just the appearance is a perfect piece of artwork.

And as the outer box containing this perfume bottle, it is also a handicraft. The painted flower and bird luodian lacquer box inlaid with red agate and golden nephrite can be placed in the façade of any treasure shop without showing shabby at all. The lacquer box is lined with a layer of Dingzhou yellow silk, and under the satin, there is a side of cork, which is chiseled just enough to be embedded in the notch of the perfume bottle. When you put the perfume bottle inside, it fits tightly and doesn't shake at all.

Even if there is no fragrance in the bottle, just the bottle and the box, the price is not too much. And the essence in the bottle, after the three words of the bottle cap and the inside of the box, is more expensive than gold.

Queen Xiang held the perfume bottle in the palm of her hand, and was looking at it carefully, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus wafted from her palm. Although she is the queen and the mother of the world, her husband does not like luxury, and similar luxury utensils are rare around her, and they are often sent to Qingshou Palace and Baoci Palace, not to mention making daily consumables into luxury essences.

However, the nature of women cannot be erased even in the palace, and such a delicate and gorgeous set of flavors makes Queen Xiang fall in love.

"Sage," a palace maid came in to report to the queen, "Zhu Niangzi and Princess Shushou have arrived. ”

Nodding to the queen, he ordered them to be sent in. The perfume bottle was casually put into the box, but no one put it away.

A moment later, a young woman in palace clothes walked into the house with a little girl carved in pink and jade, and saluted the queen. Xiang took the only princess in the palace to the queen, hugged her in her arms, and smiled and let Concubine Zhu sit down.

Concubine Zhu Xian sat down, and her eyes swept in the pavilion, but she saw that there were only the queen and female officials in the east bedroom of the Kunning Palace, and no one else was seen.

Empress Xiang could see her thoughts and explained: "Shu Guo just brought her family's Yi brother into the palace, and she is playing with her sixth brother in the back." There is a country mother-in-law watching, don't worry about anything. ”

The mother-in-law is the old palace maid in the palace, and she is a close confidant to the queen, and she can rest assured that she will take care of her.

Hearing that her younger brother and cousin were behind, Princess Shushou twisted her body restlessly in Queen Xiang's arms, wanting to go to the back of the pavilion. Xiang smiled at the queen, then let go of her hand and let Shushou go to the back to find her younger brother.

"Then where did Shu go?" Concubine Zhu Xian asked.

Although the sixth brother Zhao Maid is her own flesh and blood, for the sake of the country's future Antai, she was placed in the Kunning Palace from the beginning and was raised by the queen herself. In order to prevent leaving a mustard in the queen's heart, she didn't even dare to ask more. I can only ask the princess of Shu who should be in the Kunning Palace.

"I just was summoned to the Baoci Palace." Xiang said to the queen, "I just came from the Baoci Palace, and before I sat down and said two words, I said that the second uncle and the third uncle came to the palace, and they were called again." ”

"It is rare for the two kings and the three kings to enter the palace, and it is not easy to meet outside the palace, so it is no wonder that the Queen Mother is in a hurry to recruit Shu back. When the official family comes out of the Chongzheng Palace, most of them will go to the Baoci Palace. ”

"I don't know if the Shu Kingdom will say anything to the Queen Mother, I heard that Wang Shu still hasn't changed his old personality in the south. After arriving in Yangzhou, he recruited official prostitutes to drink and have fun for half a month, and two days ago, the news reached the ears of the official family, and the official family almost demoted him to Guangnan. ”

Concubine Zhu Xian sighed: "Today's eldest princess and eldest princess are the most aggrieved in Shu. ”

Xiang sighed with the queen: "The daughter of the heavenly family can not be wronged, only the Tang people." You can't follow their example, can you? As long as the princess of the Great Song Dynasty touches the edges, the officials outside will not let it go. ”

Concubine Zhu Xian understood who Xiang Empress was talking about.

The eldest daughter of Renzong, who died of illness in her early thirties, Qin Guozhuang Xiao, the eldest princess, only had a discordant relationship with the couple, and was an ordinary family, so she had already gone to the government to apply for a judgment and divorce, but the daughter of the heavenly family had no way to divorce and could only separate. Later, he was impeached repeatedly by Yu Shi Xun, so that he died of depression.

This is still Renzong's most beloved eldest daughter, and she is as close to Yingzong as a brother and sister who has been raised in the palace since she was a child - when Yingzong was in the palace, he was fostered by his mother Miao Guifei - but the ending is still so regrettable. None of the princesses of the Great Song Dynasty can act as arbitrarily as the princesses of the Tang Dynasty.

Today's princess of Shu is in a similar situation, the relationship between husband and wife is very tense, last year because of Su Shi's case, Wang Shu was targeted by Yushitai not long after, and he was derogated out of Beijing. Wang Shu took the concubine on the road, and left the princess of Shu. Such a husband is indeed a misfortune for a woman. Fortunately, the only son has been healthy and lively since he had pox, and he has become the only sustenance of the princess of Shu.

Xiang sighed secretly in the queen's heart, Wang Xu's reputation for being suave and suave is famous in the capital. Her sister-in-law tried her best to be the bride of an ordinary family, and never wanted any special treatment. But her identity is there, and she can't bow down to her husband and be small, and she has to maintain the dignity of the heavenly family, how can she please her husband?

It's just that this matter was helpless, and after a few words, neither of them wanted to mention it anymore.

"A few days ago, because of the incident after the Keju League, Yushitai also said that Han Gang could not be allowed to take charge of Zishantang, but now that Kaifeng Mansion has decided the case, it is better to return Han Gang's innocence." Concubine Zhu Xian didn't care about Han Gang, she was just for her son.

A few days ago, Xinxue and Qi Xue fought for Taoism or something, and Empress Xiang and Concubine Zhu Xian didn't understand it very well, but the essence of its power struggle, they wouldn't fail to understand it anyway. Zhao Ji suppressed qixue, they didn't care. But letting Han Gang manage Zishantang is related to their future.

Queen Xiang doesn't have much thought, since she died a princess, the possibility of rebirth is very small, and she doesn't expect to have a concubine to inherit the throne. Keeping the only imperial heir at the moment is the greatest wish.

The emperor's health has always been bad. In order to have a few more sons, he had to fight all the time, and the result of the rain and dew of the concubines in the palace was that his body was getting worse, although there was no major trouble for a while, but the emperor who stood by the age could not see the strength of the righteous prime at all. Zhao Maid, who is frolicking with her cousin and sister in the back, is the biggest hope for the concubine in the palace at the moment.

"The official family also said that Qian Zao is a capable official." As a noble relative, the Xiang family was pulled into the Qiyun headquarters very early, although Queen Xiang didn't like what the family did, but when it came to the end, she still knew which side to stand on. What's more, the flying eagle of the relatives is the only way to avoid the disaster, and it cannot be said that the two brothers in the family have done something wrong. Xiang said to the queen: "The official family doesn't think about anything else, they always think more about the sixth brother." Shu Guo came today, in fact, he also wanted Brother Yi to accompany the sixth brother. ”

"Sixth Brother Er and Brother Yi are still a little too young, and when they enter the Zishan Hall, I am afraid that they will be uncertain."

Concubine Zhu Xian was a little worried. Going out of the cabinet to study is to officially announce that the prince has the right to inherit the throne, which is of course a good thing, but it also means that Zhao Maid will fall into the eyes of the ministers from now on.

"It's good to put on a name, why don't you be officially enlightened until you are seven or eight years old." Xiang said to the queen, "With Han Gang's attendant talking about Zishantang, I can also feel a little more at ease with the sixth brother." ”

Concubine Zhu Xian nodded.

Different people come to different conclusions about the same thing, from their own different perspectives. Whether it is the emperor or the courtiers, the restart of Zishantang is more of an aftermath of the battle for Taoism for them. But for Empress Xiang and Concubine Zhu Xian, Zishantang's role is to protect their only son, from his health to whether he can ascend the throne smoothly in the future.

Correspondingly, this is also protecting themselves. Otherwise, let the two kings get what they wanted, and they may not even have a name - Taizu's Empress Xiaozhang died at a young age, and she didn't even get the due etiquette in the future. Who wants to become the second Hyojang Empress? - At least in the Imperial Palace, Zishantang has been welcomed by most people, even if it is a concubine other than Empress Xiang and Concubine Zhu Xian, the enthronement of the imperial brother or the enthronement of the prince is also a completely different concept.

They have a common interest in this matter.

But that's about it. The women in the palace, in the face of changes in the political situation in the court, unless their own family members are implicated, most of them don't care. They only work on jewelry, clothing, powder, perfume, and the like.

It can't be said that they really don't care about political affairs, but there are scholars and doctors who fill the court outside, there are young men of heaven inside, and there are ancestors who don't interfere in politics in the harem, and the women in the palace, except for the queen mother, the queen and Concubine Zhu Xian, who gave birth to the emperor's heir, others are not qualified to worry about outside political affairs, and it is better to fight for a little more benefits for the mother's family if they have energy. And even if it is Queen Xiang and Concubine Zhu Xian, what they care about is only the status of the imperial heir, and the rest of the disputes cannot be discussed, let alone discussed.

"That's right," Empress Xiang suddenly sounded something, "I recruited Donglai Junjun yesterday to enter the palace this afternoon, and it's almost there." ”

Concubine Zhu Xian smiled with a little surprise: "The last time the Shu Kingdom said that it had been a long time since I saw Donglai Junjun. ”

Wang Anshi's daughter can be looked at differently by the queen and concubines in the palace, and is not affected by her father, partly because of Han Gang's name as a disciple of the Medicine King, but the rest is because of her own likable conduct.

"It's that the Shu Kingdom of Zhilu Dao is going to visit the Queen Mother today, so he went to recruit Donglai Junjun into the palace." Said to the Queen. For the children of the Han family, whether it is luck or the blessing of gods and Buddhas, it is always enviable. If you can get a dip, who wouldn't?