Looking at Cao Danshu playing on the grass, Cao Xiuyuan's eyes were full of smiles.
The pavilion has not been so lively for a long time.
Although Cao Xiuyuan was born in the Zhending Cao family, she was not very favored. During the reign of the late emperor, she came to Xiangluan Pavilion only a handful of times.
There are only about four or five times a year, and on average, not even once a month.
Due to the strict palace restrictions in the Song Dynasty, during the period when Zhenzong was not lucky, Cao Xiuyuan could only face the same scenery every day.
Day after day, year after year.
Over time, her heart became full of gloom. Except for the first time when she entered the palace, she almost never smiled.
Even when the late Emperor was in luck, the smile on her face was almost fake.
And this undoubtedly pushed the late emperor further.
As time passed, Zhenzong's visits became less and less.
Right now, even if Cao Danshu did nothing but played there, Cao Xiuyuan felt very happy.
She couldn't remember the last time she was so happy.
It seems like too long.
However, the smile on Cao Xiuyuan's face did not last long. Soon, the smile on her face disappeared.
She thought of herself again.
Danshu's future is likely to be like hers.
In the eyes of others, becoming the emperor's concubine is definitely an extremely glorious thing, but when it comes to an individual, only you can feel the warmth and warmth of it.
First of all, to become the emperor's concubine, you must be prepared to face loneliness.
The harem is so big, and there are so many concubines and concubines for the emperor to choose from. Some people may never be favored by the emperor in their lifetime.
However, even so, once one enters the realm, no matter whether one is favored by the emperor or not, one will never be able to leave this palace city for almost the rest of his life.
At first, Cao Xiuyuan found it easy to become the emperor's concubine. She was full of expectations for this palace.
But now, she only feels that she is a miserable person.
I'll be stuck here my whole life.
The most uncomfortable thing was that she couldn't confide all the pain in her heart to the people closest to her.
Marrying into the royal family is not only the choice of the royal family, but also the choice of the family. As a member of the Cao family, she has no choice.
Born here and raised here, she should do her best for the Cao family.
a long time.
Cao Xiuyuan suddenly clasped her hands together and secretly prayed to the gods and Buddhas.
'Blessed by Bodhisattva, I hope Danshu will be favored in the future.'
Even when praying to gods and Buddhas, Cao Xiuyuan did not dare to ask for too much, she just wanted Danshu to be favored.
As for what kind of pampering, harem, etc.?
She didn't dare to hope.
She just hopes that Cao Danshu will not follow her old path.
After a while, a female officer quietly walked up to Cao Xiuyuan and whispered.
"Xiuyuan, the Queen Mother ordered Xiuyuan to go to Baoci Hall in the afternoon, and the Queen Mother specially named her and asked the young lady to accompany her."
The Queen Mother ordered herself to go to Bao Ci Hall?
In an instant, Cao Xiuyuan thought of her brother on the front line.
The great victory in the northwest not only caused an uproar in the capital, but also spread widely in the harem.
After all, throughout the history of the country, there are only a handful of such glorious victories.
Since then, Cao Xiuyuan would be summoned by the Queen Mother every now and then, which was absolutely unimaginable before.
Among the people in the harem, who knows that only Concubine Yang and the eldest empress have the closest relationship?
The two are not only fellow villagers, but also jointly raised the current official family. The relationship between the two is far beyond comparison with others.
But at some point, Concubine Yang gradually became invisible, and the number of times she went to Baoci Hall became less and less.
Until recently, Princess Yang's visits to Bao Ci Hall were even less frequent than Cao Xiuyuan's.
There are no secrets like Miyagi. Such an obvious situation has triggered secret discussions among many people.
Regarding the discussion of the relationship between the Queen Mother and Concubine Yang, there are not a thousand but also eight hundred opinions.
…
…
…
afternoon.
Bao Ci Hall.
Before Cao Xiuyuan arrived, Liu E specially summoned Ren Shouzhong and asked about Cao Wei's itinerary.
"Ren Guan Gou, where is Cao Wei now?"
Ren Shouzhong stood in front of Liu E with a half-bowed body. Now, he has resigned from the imperial medicine hospital. Like Lei Yungong, he is now one of the supervisors of the Imperial City Department.
As for Cao Wei's information, it was something the Empress Dowager specially requested. Therefore, he was very concerned about this matter and would read the latest information almost every day to prevent any mistakes or omissions in his answers.
"According to General Cao's schedule, we should be almost at Xijing now."
"Xijing?"
Luoyang is only about four hundred miles away from the capital. If you hurry, it will only take two or three days to return to the capital.
Of course, Cao Wei was definitely not traveling that fast. If he was riding alone and could travel one to two hundred miles a day, there would probably be no problem.
But when he returned to Beijing this time, he was not traveling alone.
In addition to himself, there were also leaders from the northwestern border who were preparing to surrender to the Song Dynasty.
In the Battle of the Northwest, the people who were most shocked were not the Xiazhou Dangxiang nor the Liao Kingdom, but the large and small tribes living at the junction of the Song Dynasty and the Li family of Xiazhou.
This group of people are basically just outsiders.
Whoever is strong, they will depend on.
We have just experienced a great war, and the strongest one at the moment is undoubtedly the Song Dynasty!
After the war, many small and medium-sized tribes paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, expressing their hope to be attached to the Song Dynasty and transform from raw households to "familiar households".
Although Cao Wei had been authorized in advance to act expediently, he still left the choice to the court on how to deal with these tribes.
Li Jie basically had no interest in these small tribes, so the power of disposal was handed over to the two governments.
Finally, the ministers of the two governments approved the attachment of this group of people.
During the process of disposal, Ding Wei took advantage of the situation and made a suggestion. The success of expanding the land should be greatly celebrated.
It just so happens that we can take this opportunity to bring these Tibetan tribes who are ready to pay tribute back to the capital.
Only through personal experience can these people know how prosperous the Song Dynasty was.
This group of barbarians should take a closer look at what it means to be a celestial country!
Ding Wei believed that after this trip to the capital of the Song Dynasty, these Tibetan tribes would not dare to have any different intentions in the future.
"Send more manpower in the near future, be sure to calculate the time correctly."
"yes!"
Ren Shouzhong bowed repeatedly, he did not dare to take this matter lightly.
Because the Queen Mother and the officials were preparing to personally welcome Cao Wei in front of Xuanyou Gate.
Xuanyou Gate is the dividing point between the inner and outer dynasties of the imperial city. Liu E chose to visit Xuanyou Gate instead of Xuande Gate, the gate of the imperial city.
Firstly, it was because the reception at Xuandemen was too grand. If Cao Wei was determined to destroy the country this time, let alone Xuandemen, it would not be impossible to have her receive him outside Zhuquemen (the gate of the inner city).
Even going one step further and going thirty miles outside Nanxunmen is not beyond negotiation.
As for the second thing, Liu E also wanted to avoid that in the future, her powers and responsibilities would only be exercised in the inner dynasty, and all matters in the outer dynasty would be decided by the officials.