"Hong'er, if you need anything, just call me. You are busy with everything now, so you don't need to come to say hello."
Queen Zhou quickly helped him up.
Even though I said this, I was still very happy in my heart.
After all, this was the first time that her son came to pay her respects after he ascended the throne, but she knew that he must have other things to do.
"Haha, I was so busy a while ago that I didn't come to pay my respects to my mother. I hope my mother will forgive me for not coming here to fulfill my filial piety when I have free time."
After the two sat down, Zhu Cihong said seriously.
As for Chongzhen, he had already hid when he knew Zhu Cixiang was coming. On the one hand, he was very superstitious that the two dragons would not meet each other, and on the other hand, he felt ashamed to see his son.
"Hong'er, what do you need your mother to help you with?"
Queen Zhou was a little uncomfortable seeing her son being so well-behaved and polite.
She now has a thorough understanding of her son's temperament, and knows that he must have something for him.
Seeing her being so direct, Zhu Cixiang felt a little embarrassed to speak, and laughed dryly: "Haha, this... I really have something I want to discuss with my mother."
"What's going on?"
Queen Zhou also became curious and sat upright. This was the first time she saw her son hesitating like this.
"Well, with such a mother, I want to...want to make Aunt Liu my concubine."
Zhu Cixiang said carefully, and his voice involuntarily became softer after he spoke.
"What?"
"Xun'er, you...why do you suddenly want to make Lan'er your concubine?"
"No, this is absolutely not possible, it's too ridiculous."
Queen Zhou stood up in shock, opened her mouth wide, and then shook her head like a wavy drum with a very firm tone.
"Mother, the child is not young anymore, so it is normal to have one or two concubines!"
"It's not like you're a queen or concubine, why are you making such a fuss!"
Zhu Cixiang was a little helpless. He knew that his mother would react like this, so he gave up without any hesitation.
"Hong'er, it's not that the queen is making a fuss, but there are so many women in the palace. Why do you choose Lan'er?"
"She is so much older than you, and she is still the queen... This is absolutely not possible. The queen will depend on you for everything else, but this is the only thing she can't do!"
By the end of the sentence, Queen Zhou even blushed a little.
When Lan'er was in the Zhou family, she was her personal maid, and she was only three years younger than her. Over the years, she had been treated as a biological sister in the palace, so she really couldn't accept her son's request, and couldn't figure out why her son started fighting.
Got her idea.
Seeing her resolute attitude, Zhu Cixi could only say in a deep voice: "Mother, the child once promised Aunt Liu that he would make her a concubine. Now that the child has become the emperor, you can't let the child break your promise, right?"
"What?"
"Have you promised her before?"
"I understand. No wonder it was Lan'er who opened the door to Kunning Palace for you, right?"
Empress Zhou finally understood. She said how her son suddenly came in without anyone noticing. It turned out that he had bribed Lan'er.
Thinking of this, I felt angry for a while, gritted my teeth and cursed: "That damn girl, I have been serving her like a sister in vain, and your father has never treated her badly, yet she did such a shameless thing..."
"Your Majesty, it's all your fault. I'm sorry to you and the Supreme Emperor. It's your majesty who seduced you. It's none of your business. If you want to beat or kill me, you won't have any complaints. I just ask you not to blame your majesty..."
A palace maid suddenly rushed out from behind the screen, knelt down in front of Queen Zhou, cried and begged.
I saw that she was beautiful, about thirty years old, but her face was as youthful as a girl, and her figure was as mature as a woman's, not much inferior to Queen Zhou.
"Mother, it's none of Aunt Liu's business. It was the child who forced her. If you want to punish the child, just punish the child!"
When Zhu Cixiang saw this, he had no choice but to kneel down. It was indeed his overlord who took the man's body with his bow.
"you…"
"Oh, forget it, the matter has come to this, what else can the queen say?"
"It's just that you must not let your father know about this, otherwise you will make him angry again..."
Queen Zhou looked at the two of them, and finally had to sigh and sit down.
She naturally understood that her son must have taken the initiative in order to bribe Lan'er. Thinking of her son's shamelessness, her face turned red with embarrassment.
"Thank you very much, Queen Mother!"
"Thank you so much, ma'am...wuwu..."
Liu Xinlan was so excited that she cried with joy again.
During this period, I took a peek at Zhu Cihong, her cheeks were also flushed, but she was more moved.
She knew very well that His Highness was just trying to bribe and use her, so she never had any illusions. She just hoped that His Majesty would occasionally think of her after he ascended the throne.
Who would have thought that His Majesty not only remembered her, but also confessed to her today that he would fulfill his original promise.
"Let's go quickly, don't bother me here anymore."
Seeing the two people flirting with each other, Queen Zhou waved her hands impatiently, feeling depressed in her heart, as if some treasure had been stolen.
Zhu Cihong knew that although she agreed, she must still be angry, so he quickly resigned and left Kunning Palace with Liu Xinlan.
…
"Aunt Liu, you won't blame me for not seeing you during this period, right?"
"How can I blame Your Majesty when I know that Your Majesty is busy with state affairs during this period? Besides, I am just a palace maid. It is a great kindness to receive His Majesty's mercy..."
Liu Xinlan shook her head. At the end of the sentence, she looked at Zhu Cixiang with tearful eyes, her body trembled slightly, and she covered her mouth desperately with one hand.
"Okay, don't cry anymore. I said I won't let you down. As soon as I take the time, I will go talk to my mother."
Zhu Cixi took her into his arms and comforted her.
I also understand her mood at the moment.
However, I feel a little ashamed in my heart. If it weren't for the lack of suitable candidates for opening the store and the sudden thought of her, I would have really forgotten her, at least I won't think of her in a short time.
And the reason why he spent so much effort to bribe her in the first place was actually because he wanted to let her assassinate his father Chongzhen if he had no choice.
"Well, I know that your Majesty will never forget you..."
However, Liu Xinlan didn't know Zhu Cixiang's plan, thinking that he really liked her, and she couldn't stop the tears in her beautiful eyes.
"Your Majesty, from now on you should call me Xinlan or Laner!"
Liu Xinlan saw that after he became emperor, he still treated her as before, so she whispered, and at the end of the sentence her voice was as thin as a mosquito or a fly.
"Well, let's call you Xinlan for the time being. After a while, after repelling the intruders, I will officially designate you as my concubine."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Liu Xinlan kowtowed again in excitement.
After her mood stabilized, Zhu Cihong told her about running the store.
"Your Majesty, I am afraid that if you do not do well, your Majesty's important affairs will be delayed..."
Liu Xinlan didn't think much about it, but she was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to do it well. Now even if Zhu Cixiang asked her to kill Chongzhen, she probably wouldn't hesitate at all.
"Oh! It's not that complicated. The shops and clerks are ready-made, and they only sell grain and salt. You only need to find some palace maids who can learn to count and let them be the shopkeepers. You can write down the accounts clearly and report them to me every day.
!" Zhu Cixi waved his hand.
"Well, all slaves will obey your Majesty."
"By the way, the palace maids had better find some older people and tell them that as long as they work with peace of mind and don't embezzle my money, if they fall in love with someone in a year or two, I will allow them to marry and prepare a gift for them.
A generous dowry.”
Compared to the eunuchs, Zhu Cixiang was more at ease with the maids.
After all, eunuchs are inhumane and have twisted psychology. Apart from power, only money can satisfy their desires, so they all work hard to get money.
The palace maids are different. Although they are also greedy for money, money is obviously nothing compared to being able to marry someone, especially those who have been in the palace for more than ten years.
Since he ascended the throne, Zhu Cixiang has been tensing his nerves. Now that the war has slowed down a bit and the beauty is in his arms again, after talking about the business, he picked her up and headed towards the dragon bed, ready to vent his anger.
He would not be like his father Chongzhen, who did not enjoy all these beauties and wasted his time on piles of memorials.
The beauties in this palace are always his food, morning and night.