"A virtuous person who acts as a warning will benefit Luan Hu with diligence." [Yuan Keli's edict from the right minister and his wife of the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Jin Dynasty]
The next day, Empress Dong helped the emperor put on his court clothes and carefully arranged his clothes and collar. Then she took a large belt from Mu Shun's hand, went around behind the emperor, hugged him and tied it around his waist.
"I forgot to ask last night, has Mr. Zhen already gone to the Pixiang Palace?" The emperor spread his arms in front of the light-transmitting carved window, and the melodious chirping of birds came from the window: "The Changning Palace has just been built, and it is indeed not suitable for people to live in.
, I was negligent, luckily you reminded me."
"Your Majesty is dealing with all kinds of things every day, so you naturally have no time to care about such trivial matters. It is also the Changqiu period, and those few in the Yeting Order do not know anything. They only know how to follow the edict and do not say anything when they encounter difficulties." Empress Dong said for the emperor.
After arranging the 'gentry' hanging down from the end of the big belt, he placed it close to the emperor's back and said in a clear voice: "Fortunately, I went to the Changning Palace yesterday and adjusted the palace in time. Otherwise, I would have treated the Zhen family badly. In my heart, I
I can’t get through it either.”
Dachangqiu Miao Si, who was standing nearby, heard Empress Dong scolding him in and out of words, but could not see the emperor's turned away face, so he had to kneel down to apologize.
"It's because they were negligent." The emperor didn't look back and touched the exquisite dragon-shaped jade belt hook with both hands: "You are the queen, so you should worry more about Ye Ting's affairs."
"I promise." Empress Dong agreed casually and hung the sword and jade ornaments on the emperor's belt one by one.
"Okay." The emperor held down Empress Dong's hand that was about to hang up the sachet, and turned around and said, "It's not a court meeting, so why hang up so much? It will be cumbersome to walk."
"These are the majesty that an emperor should have." Although Empress Dong said this, she took back the hand holding the sachet as she was told, took a step back, and looked at the emperor with a smile.
Mu Shun immediately stepped forward to put the crown on the emperor's head, and finally tidied up his clothes.
The emperor held the hilt of his sword emptyly, flipped the jade ornaments hanging around his waist with his right hand, and said casually: "The emperor's clothes can only show his power but not establish his power. This is the icing on the cake. If I wear commoners and straw sandals, you will not be afraid of my power."
?”
Empress Dong and everyone else bowed slightly, saying how dare they.
The emperor laughed and walked out without looking at Miao Si, who was still kneeling on the ground. Seeing the emperor and others walking away, he stood up carefully.
Empress Dong served the emperor for breakfast. The breakfast was very simple. According to the emperor's instructions, there was no meat that was too greasy. It was just a bowl of soy milk, a bowl of mutton noodle soup, a few pancakes, and two boiled chickens.
.
Foods such as steamed buns, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks are easy to make. The emperor had ordered the dining room to be renovated a long time ago, which greatly enriched the food types in the palace and even among the people. But I don’t know whether it was because he followed the local customs or for some other reason.
The emperor liked to eat biscuits by tearing them into pieces and soaking them in mutton soup. Although it was not very elegant, no one dared to say anything, especially Empress Dong.
Empress Dong personally broke the chicken for the emperor at the table and peeled the shell for him. At the same time, she said: "After Zhen entered the palace, I just remembered something. Now, thanks to your majesty's martial arts, the Han Dynasty has returned to peace, and the palace
The old eunuch also often said that he had not heard his children's words for many years. In order to continue the plan of having children, I thought it would be better to take advantage of the joy of the revival and order Ye Ting to send envoys to the people to recruit girls and enrich Ye Ting."
This is a decision made by Empress Dong after some thought. Now she has no capable candidates in her pocket who can support her in the promotion. As a backing, compared to the prostitutes around Fu Shou, Empress Dong has already achieved this point.
It lags behind quite a bit.
Therefore, after the world is settled, the emperor will inevitably shift part of his focus to Yeting. Since Empress Dong cannot stop it, she can only go with the flow.
"Choose a girl from a good family?" The emperor took a sip of noodle soup, took the handkerchief handed by Empress Dong, wiped his mouth, and said without thinking: "If I rashly select a daughter when the world has just been decided, how will the world talk about me? This matter should not be rushed.
Okay, let’s talk about it later.”
"How can I not know that Your Majesty is concerned about the people? However, the affairs of the heavenly family are also the affairs of the world. According to my opinion, it is better to limit the selection to the three assistants. Those nobles and powerful families will be happy to comply.
"Empress Dong gently placed the peeled chicken on the lacquer plate in front of the emperor. Now she knew how to persuade the emperor tactfully: "The four surnames are Xiaohou, Guanzhong Xunjiu, Xienze Enze for a long time. Your Majesty,
This is an opportunity to win their hearts and minds."
To a certain extent, the selection of girls from good families was indeed, as Empress Dong said, out of the intention of winning over powerful noble families. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, except for a few cases, the queens were all from Nanyang and Kansai families. This was not only a dispute between the top noble families.
Blood marriage is accompanied by a series of political tacit understandings and traditions.
Only then did the emperor seriously consider Empress Dong's opinion. If it was limited to Guanzhong and the four surnamed Xiaohou, it would not be impossible to win over people's hearts. If you think about it carefully, the emperor had subconsciously long ago pursued the favor of the old and the fallen.
Sir, now we can echo this policy.
"Remember, it has been three or four years since the last time we selected a daughter from a good family, when the emperor's sister had not left the palace? It will be up to you to do it this time." The emperor vaguely understood Empress Dong's thoughts, but he still did not forget it.
A word of caution: "If there are any suitable people from the Yin family, Deng family and other old clans, you might as well open an opening and take care of them."
Empress Dong bowed slightly to express her understanding.
The emperor nodded and continued to eat the food in front of him until he was seven-tenths full. Then he rinsed his mouth with tea. Suddenly he was stunned for a moment and casually praised: "The tea here is quite delicious." After that,
Then he got up and left.
Empress Dong didn't eat much, and she had no more food at this time. After bidding farewell to the emperor, she stood by the palace door and threw the silk cloth in her hand to Chang Yu.
The selection of girls from good families was indispensable to Ye Ting Ling, and Dachangqiu was involved in it. Ye Ting Ling had already been subdued by Empress Dong, but Dachang Qiu was not.
Empress Dong stood by the door, as if she had just realized it, she waved her hand to call Miao Si next to her, and said: "I have never treated you badly in these years. For example, if something goes wrong in Chang Ning Palace, I should
Submit it to me immediately... With your intelligence, how come you can't see it?"
"It was all due to my negligence at the time. I hope Your Highness will forgive me." Miao Si did not make any excuses and fell to the ground again to plead guilty.
Miao Si was a scholar who was sentenced to palace punishment. He was very arrogant. In his early years, he had served the eldest princess Wan, and he was not of the same mind as Empress Dong. Last time, he helped the eldest princess stop Empress Dong in Jiaofang Palace and refused to let her go.
She entered the Chengming Palace to stir up trouble. Although in hindsight, Miao Si indirectly helped Empress Dong, she felt resentful when she thought that her elder Changqiu actually helped the eldest princess to turn against her.
When Empress Dong saw this, she felt a little relieved: "Forget it this time, and don't do it next time. Da Changqiu should be my confidant, and not just any eunuch with age and qualifications can do it."
After the beating, Empress Dong continued to comfort her: "Miao Gong, you are the minister of this palace. You declare my will and manage the matters in the palace. You are the head of all my attendants. According to the system, the chief minister of this palace is the chief minister.
I can't compare to you, Mr. Miao, so just take care of yourself."
Miao Si lowered his head and bowed, but in the end he did not give an answer.
Empress Dong knew this was the result, so she ignored him and left.
"This Miao priest is not facing Your Highness at all." Chang Yu helped Empress Dong to go to the side hall to rest, preparing to summon Fu Shou and other nobles to pay their respects later, and to deal with the memorials of Ye Ting Ling and Yong Xiang Ling. Chang Yu General Dong
The queen adjusted herself on the couch and continued: "Just now he asked the country to plead guilty. Your Highness can easily punish him."
"It's enough to beat her. Your Majesty may not be willing to take this matter to trial." Empress Dong had a headache when she thought of this. She was not one of her own in the most critical position, so she was always constrained in doing things.
Chang Yu rolled his eyes and suggested softly: "I heard that Mu Shun and Miao Si from Xiaohuangmen around the country are not good to each other. In this matter, you might as well..."
"You can go and ask in private whether Mu Shun is your Majesty's servant. Don't say anything else. Also, you and Ye Tingling should take good care of the selection of good girls." Empress Dong carefully ordered her.
The righteous man brought the tea that the emperor had drunk before and poured himself a bowl. He tasted it himself and raised his eyebrows: "This tea is indeed good. Who cooked it?"
The emperor went to Jiaofang Palace for several days in a row, and his kindness attracted people's attention. Once the edict for selecting good girls was discovered, all the honorary officials, whose influence on the government had gradually declined, were delighted. Dong Cheng also received many awards.
People's favorability and reputation have also improved a lot.
These were all attributed to Empress Dong's words. Dong Cheng, who had benefited from this, was extremely concerned about selecting good girls for Ye Ting, and thus became closer to many of his ancestors who came from Nanyang.
After helping the Dong family to gain momentum, the emperor went to Jiaofang Palace less often. He first visited Fushou's residence for a few days, and finally arrived belatedly, as if to deliberately aggravate people's temper, and came to Phi.
Incense Palace.
Song Du is a bit more mature than before. She is no longer a spoiled girl with a temper who dares to yell at the emperor casually. Under the guidance of Guo Cainv beside her, although she is still acting petty for many things at this time, she can only hold it in.
In my heart, I was still very happy to greet the emperor after meeting him.
"Your Majesty has come here sometimes." Song Du took the emperor's hand without any courtesy and led him all the way into the Xiang Hall to sit down on the couch: "If you don't come, I will go to Sister Fu to complain about my grievances.
"
"Who else can make you suffer?" With a faint smile on his face, the emperor sat down next to her, casually looked at the furnishings and layout of the palace, and then asked Zhen Mi, who came in behind: "These past few days
Are you still used to living in Pixiang Hall?"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty Song is kind, and everything is fine for me here." Zhen Mi had light makeup on her face, her steps were graceful, and everything was as usual.
"I will wrong you for the next few days. You can go back to Changning Palace for a month at most." There is no formaldehyde in this era, and the smell of the new house will evaporate in a few days. The emperor asked people to move out temporarily just as a precaution.
. He naturally didn't believe that Song Du was really as 'nice' as Zhen Mi said. It was just a newcomer who had just arrived and was living under someone else's roof, so he had to say something against his will.
"Zhen Mi's temperament is similar to Fu Shou. You must learn to be so steady and calm." The emperor turned his head and said to Song Du.
Song Du, who felt he had been left out, said unconvincingly: "How does she look like Sister Fu?"
Zhen Mi's expression did not change and she sat aside very respectfully.
Song Du glanced at the other party and then said: "Your Majesty, I found a good thing the day before yesterday, which can be used to celebrate this personal expedition for Your Majesty."
With that said, Song Du urged Guo Cainu to take out the things. Guo Cainu did not move her feet after receiving the order and glanced at Zhen Mi.
Zhen Mi immediately stood up knowingly and excused herself.
Song Duxiang didn't understand why Guo Cainu did this. She finally found a rare object and was about to show it to the emperor to show off to Zhen Mi, but Guo Cainu wanted to send Zhen Mi away. Song Duxiang asked,
But looking at Guo Cainv's back as she turned around to prepare something, it was hard to say anything else.
The emperor didn't notice anything strange. He just thought of the temperament of a child in the capital of Song Dynasty, and the treasure presentation was also mysterious. After Zhen Mi left in a sensible way, the emperor urged him funny: "What on earth is it? Don't let me down.
"
While she was talking, Guo Cainu came over with a lacquer plate in her hand, with wine bottles and cups placed on it. From a distance, she didn't think it was strange. Only when he walked in did the emperor notice the difference.
In addition to a pot and a cup, there was also a huge conch shell placed on the lacquer plate.
The shell is as big as an adult's palm, with a rounded bottom and spiral patterns, like a parrot's beak. The whole body is vermilion, and under the light, there is a layer of jade-like mica-like luster inside.
"This is called Xiangluo." Song Du watched the emperor take the shell inlaid with agate and emerald with great interest, and proudly introduced: "This is also called red snail. It is produced in the South China Sea. Common red snails are only
It's a bit bigger than a cat's eye and as big as the palm of your hand. There is no other one in the world."
"Your Majesty, smell it, it still has fragrance." Song Du introduced another characteristic of Xiangluo.
The fragrant snail has jade as its base and gold as its cover. It is one piece without any carvings. The emperor was playing with it in his hands. He had seen the cultural relics of the parrot cup in later generations, and now he was holding it in his hand as a drinking utensil.
, which is the first time.
"If you put wine in it, the darker the color of the wine and the mellower the aroma. It is perfect to use it to celebrate His Majesty's crowning." Guo Cainv smiled attentively and put down the jug and wine cup: "Use
This thing has another wonderful use for drinking wine..."
"Oh." The emperor had finished appreciating the Xiangluo Xie at close range, and then placed it on the table like an ordinary wine cup. He seemed to have thought of something: "Is it the 'not empty wine'?"
"Your Majesty Ruijian, you really know everything." Guo Cainv raised her eyebrows and said in surprise: "The function of this thing was only discovered when the servants and others were cleaning it. I didn't expect that your Majesty could see through it at a glance."
"What is 'not empty wine'?" Song Du asked curiously.
Guo Cainv didn't answer and retreated wisely.
"The so-called 'not empty' means that the wine in the cup is not empty." The emperor was happy to share some insights with Song Du: "This snail has a special structure and can easily store wine. When you drink it slowly, the wine will have a pouring effect.
It is an illusion that the drink is not empty, so it is called 'empty wine'."
"Oh." Song Du nodded. This thing was one of the gifts her father Song Hong gave her from outside the palace a long time ago. It was kept in a box for a long time and was only picked up by Guo Cainu not long ago.
Song Du always likes new things, and after listening to Guo Cainu's words, she also felt that she could use this Xiangsnail 卮 to invite the emperor to come over and talk more. As for the specialties of this 卮, she didn't care at all.
At this moment, she obediently picked up the jug and poured a glass of wine for the emperor. One snail wine can hold two liters of wine. For this reason, Song Du specially reminded: "Your Majesty, drink slowly."