In midsummer, the sun is scorching, and the lotus flowers in the Cining Garden are in full bloom, white as snow, pink as clouds, fighting for beauty, standing tall among the lotus leaves in the fields. The occasional lake breeze brings the lotus fragrance into the pavilion in the middle of the lake, slightly reducing the heat of summer.

At this moment, the stone platform in the middle of the lake center pavilion was filled with various seasonal fruits, including bright red and juicy watermelons, fragrant pineapples, crystal-like pomegranates, and large and thin-skinned longans. Empress Dowager Jiang, Empress Wu, Concubine Shu, and two princesses Yongfu and Yongchun sat around the stone platform, chatting and savoring fresh seasonal fruits, with the atmosphere harmonious and harmonious.

However, another concubine of Jiajing, Concubine De, was not present. Since she almost had an abortion last time, Concubine De has been staying away from her bedroom. She has been pregnant for more than six months and her due date is in early October.

It is said that one suffers a loss and a failure. Before, Concubine Shu had a miscarriage after becoming pregnant, and Concubine De almost had a miscarriage, which naturally aroused the alertness of Jiajing and Empress Dowager Jiang. Although he searched through the entire palace afterwards, he did not find any taboos, just in case, Jiajing still strengthened the guardian of Concubine De's residence and paid special attention to his daily diet.

I guess Concubine De herself was also afraid, so she never left her bedroom after she was beaten, and Empress Dowager Jiang also spared her from the morning and evening (to pay her respects sooner or later). Because of this, Concubine De is not here at the moment.

Let’s talk about Empress Wu and Concubine Shu diligently accompanied Empress Jiang to chat about family matters, while Princess Yongchun dealt with the plate of longan with relish. This girl likes to eat longan the most. At this moment, the fruit pot in front of her was filled with fruit shells and cores, which was eye-catching.

Princess Yongfu looked helplessly at her sister Yongchun who had been having a lot of food. She lowered her head and continued to read a Buddhist scripture. The lake breeze blew her bangs, giving her a sense of quietness and picturesque beauty, which made people unknowingly forget the hustle and bustle of summer.

"Sister Yongfu, give it!" Yongchun took a longan and handed it to Yongfu's lips like a treasure. The latter shook his head and smiled.

"These longans were sent from Lingnan to Beijing yesterday. They were refrigerated with ice cubes and were fresh. But they were delicious. If you don't eat them, you won't have them." Yongchun said in a low voice.

Looking at his sister's expectant eyes, Yongfu had to open his mouth and ate the longan. His eyes lit up. It turned out to be very sweet and delicious.

Yongchun said proudly: "I didn't lie to you. If I had the chance to go to Lingnan, I would be able to eat it all day long, burp--!"

Yongchun said that, and then burped a long time and hurriedly covered his mouth with embarrassment. The palace maids next to him turned their heads and laughed secretly, and Yongfu couldn't help laughing.

Concubine Shu couldn't help but joke: "Yongchun likes eating longan so much, so why not ask the emperor to find you a family in Lingnan. After marrying, let alone longans, lychees can be eaten from morning to night. Eat 300 lychees a day, and become a Lingnan person forever - hey!"

Yongchun smiled and said, "I don't care. As long as my mother is willing to marry Yongchun."

Empress Dowager Jiang said funny: "You little monkey, the farther you marry, the better, so as to avoid the Ai family being upset day by day."

"If you don't listen, monk chant scriptures! If you don't listen, monk chant scriptures!" Yongchun covered his ears with his hands and muttered at his little mouth, which made everyone laugh.

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled and her eyes fell on Princess Yongfu. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly. What she was most worried about now was Yongfu's marriage. This despicable girl was 23 years old and she still had to waste it. And her sister didn't get married for a day, so it was hard for her to arrange for her sister.

Speaking of which, since the "three widows in the family", Princess Yongfu insisted on becoming a monk and even shaved her hair cruelly. In fact, whether after Jiajing or Jiang Tai [Battle 1 Chinese website www.zwdu8.me], she understood Yongfu's thoughts. The reason why she arranged her Taoist temple opposite the Xu Mansion to fulfill Yongfu's intention was self-evident, and she was just waiting for a suitable opportunity. This time, Xu Jin's triumphant victory in the northern expedition was undoubtedly a good opportunity. I don't know when Xu Jin would return to Beijing to triumphantly!

Princess Yongfu's eyes touched Empress Dowager Jiang. It was probably because the mother and daughter were in harmony. She couldn't help but feel hot and she lowered her head quickly. Empress Wu and Concubine Shu both curled their smiles when they saw this. Of course, they only thought Empress Dowager Jiang was sad for Yongfu's insistence on becoming a monk.

"Eunuch Hu, how is the Taoist temple that Yongfu practices is now being built? When will it be completed?" Empress Dowager Jiang turned around and asked.

Speaking of which, in August last year, Jiajing handed over the task of renovating the Marquis of Wuding to Xu Jin. At the beginning of this year, Xu Jin led his troops to the north to attack, and the task of supervising the creation of "Yongfu Temple" was handed over to the old eunuch Hu Dahai.

Eunuch Hu replied with a smile: "I've been practicing for the Empress Dowager, but I'm almost like the living water drawn from Taiye Pool has not been filled yet. I guess it will be completed in August."

Empress Dowager Jiang nodded and said, "Let's take you Yongfu for a walk and see if there is any place to improve."

"Okay!" Eunuch Hu said with a smile: "May be satisfied with Your Highness Yongfu."

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled and said, "You old guy, don't brag about yourself. If Yongfu is not satisfied, the Ai family will not spare you."

Eunuch Hu smiled and retreated behind Empress Dowager Jiang.

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

Empress Wu and Concubine Shu couldn't help but be stunned. They couldn't keep up with Empress Dowager Jiang's thinking. They were just talking about Yongfu Taoist Temple, but suddenly this sentence popped up again.

Concubine Shu glanced at Princess Yongfu who had both cheeks thoughtfully, and smiled and said, "What the Empress Dowager said about Duke Jingguo?"

Empress Dowager Jiang nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's Duke Jingguo. I remember when the Ai family first met Brother Jin, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old. In a blink of an eye, it was almost ten years old. Now Brother Jin is a pillar of my Ming Dynasty."

As Empress Dowager Jiang said, a trace of sadness appeared on her face. I remember that the year when the prince left was exactly the year when Xu Jin and Xiaowan came to Prince Xing's Mansion. If Xu Jin hadn't saved Yongfu with that first aid method, he would have lost two relatives that year. Perhaps... this is the fate between Yongfu and Xu Jin.

Empress Wu frowned. The closeness that Empress Dowager Jiang showed to Xu Jin made her feel uncomfortable and deeply jealous. The key is that Xu Jin's sister He Zhier may threaten her position as queen.

Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Empress Dowager, I heard that Duke Jingguo has a nickname called Xu Changsheng, which is really worthy of his name. He defeated the Tatars in less than half a year. Not long ago, he even defeated the Ola and put stones on Yanran Mountain to open a thousand miles of borders for our Ming Dynasty."

When Empress Dowager Jiang heard this, she immediately became happy and said with a smile: "You can't say that Brother Jin is indeed very good at fighting. He was a young scholar back then, but he dared to lead troops to fight against King Ning. Over the years, he fought for the Ming Dynasty, defeated the Japanese pirates, and drove out the Tartars, and has never been defeated yet!"

"Yes, yes, this guy Xu Jin is really good at fighting, everything will be done. People say that he is a lucky star coming to the world!" Yongchun interrupted.

Princess Yongfu smiled slightly with her beautiful eyes. When she listened to others praising Xu Jin, she naturally felt a sense of joy and pride in her heart.

Queen Wu was even more unhappy and said with a smile: "Duke Jingguo is invincible in battle and is absolutely unbearable to attack. Unfortunately, Altan has escaped many times. I heard that Altan has escaped to Turpan now, so it is probably not easy to take him, unless he uses troops to Turpan."

Princess Yongfu frowned and said indifferently: "Turpan may not dare to plunder the Ming army easily, after all, the Ola is the lesson of the past."

Princess Yongchun raised her chin and said proudly: "No, I dare to provoke Xu Jin. It is guaranteed that Turpan will not have a good end. That guy Xu Jin is not a waste of money. Whoever provokes will be unlucky!"

Concubine Shu covered her mouth and giggled: "It seems that Yongchun is very confident in Duke Jingguo!"

"Of course, that guy never lost in the war. Concubine Shu's sister-in-law, why don't we make a bet?" Yongchun peeled a longan and threw it into his mouth, and said with a smile: "Just bet Xu Jin would get rid of Turpan in a mess, and finally handed over Altan obediently."

Concubine Shu said with a funny look: "Forget it, if you lose this bet, it's even worse if you win."

Queen Wu looked up at the outside of the pavilion and changed the topic: "It's time for the emperor to go to court, right?"

Empress Dowager Jiang said strangely: "By the way, what are the emperor busy with these days? He won't come to Cining Palace after the court?"

Bi Chun, the eunuch who had been standing beside Queen Wu, turned his eyes and said sharply: "The emperor has been leaving the palace all day in the past few days, probably to go to Xu Mansion in Xiaofang."

Empress Dowager Jiang couldn't help but frown and said, "What's the matter with the Emperor going to Xu Mansion every day?"

"It is said that it is Duke Jingguo's elder sister, Miss Zhier, is sick." Bi Chun said hurriedly.

Why is it He Zhier again? Empress Dowager Jiang frowned even deeper and said indifferently: "What disease do you have? Is it very serious?"

"This... I don't know about it, but I heard that the emperor asked Doctor Li to treat Miss Zhier, so the Empress Dowager could summon Doctor Li to ask." Bi Chun answered carefully.

Empress Wu smiled and said, "It's probably not a serious illness, but the emperor is too nervous, then He Zhier, Empress Dowager, I don't know whether to say it or not."

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

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

Empress Wu sighed and said, "The emperor's favor for the righteous sister of Jingguo is well known in the court. Even the people of the people have heard of it. Therefore, I think He Zhier should be included in the palace as soon as possible, to avoid public criticism, and to let the emperor spread. Third, to... He Zhier likes to do craftsmanship on weekdays, but he is really unfair to the royal dignity. If he brings her into the palace, he can also prevent her from continuing to make trouble outside the palace."
Chapter completed!