Although it is still far from the inner palace, the emperor's concubines cannot be seen, and the place is surrounded alone, but after all, it is in the imperial city, and one can still hear news that cannot be heard outside.
A heavy rain came down, and the craftsmen hurriedly hid under the work sheds they had built, and had to stop their work.
Qixing stood in the space given to her by the craftsmen, wiping the rain off her body.
"Ah Qi, take a rest." A craftsman greeted, "Drink a bowl of hot tea."
Qixing walked over as instructed, took the tea bowl, and sat down casually on the piled wood, just like craftsmen often do. If she didn't speak, people would often forget that she was a woman.
"So, the imperial concubine and the queen had a quarrel?"
"She's not a concubine, she's a concubine."
"Your concubine dares to quarrel with the queen? This is too outrageous."
"You don't know this, right? That noble concubine was originally Concubine Chen's maid, who sent flowers to His Majesty on behalf of Concubine Chen. She got the Sacred Heart, so although she has a low status, Concubine Chen is standing behind her."
"Concubine Chen is not very favored. It is said that she is devoted to raising flowers and rarely goes to the emperor."
"You don't understand this... The more you act like this, the more important you are."
"Old nail, you don't even have a wife, how do you still understand this?"
"Hey, I don't understand. I just listened to what the chamberlains said."
After all, in the deep palace, the inner court is responsible for all their eating and drinking. The chamberlains come to deliver tea and meals, and clean up the dishes. This job is very leisurely, and they will also chat with the craftsmen, and they themselves will also chat and discuss.
All the chambermaids talk about is the harem.
Qixing also heard it.
The most recent big thing is that the queen had a conflict with a concubine. It was not a big deal. The concubine was newly favored. She behaved a little rudely in the imperial garden. The queen saw it and wanted to punish her.
It was a matter of course that the queen was in charge of the harem. Whoever expected the emperor to come over just said casually, just admit your mistake and there would be no penalty.
The queen was anxious, thinking that the emperor would not give her face in public, so she quarreled with the emperor. She might have ridiculed the concubine's low background, or said something bad. As a result, Concubine Chen became unhappy and came to argue with the queen, and the women quarreled.
The emperor also lost his temper and said that since the queen had to be punished because she had behaved inappropriately in front of the emperor, she should also be punished.
The concubines fell out of favor and gained favor, which was related to the wealth, future and even lives of the palace people. They couldn't help but talk about it privately, which made the craftsmen also listen to a lot of excitement.
Liu Tongshi walked in wearing a raincloth. Hearing the joking in the shed, he coughed heavily and stamped his feet.
"It's raining, so the construction period is fixed." He said, "The purpose of building such a big work shed is not for you to hide and relax, but for you to work."
The craftsmen dispersed in a hurry and found their own work in the work shed.
Qixing was still holding a tea bowl and drinking.
Liu Tongshi didn't scold her, he sat down beside her and picked up a bowl of tea to drink.
"When you are working in this imperial city, you must not wear your ears." He warned in a low voice, "If you hear anything, you should pretend you didn't hear it, and you can't tell anyone."
Qixing nodded: "I know, thank you Master Liu."
Liu Tongshi nodded with satisfaction. During these days, he could see that this girl was young but very stable. If he didn't look at her age, he would have thought she was several dozen years old.
Liu Tongshi glanced at Qixing again. Even with his hair wrapped up and wearing craftsman's coarse cloth, the young man was young after all, and his youthful beauty could not be concealed.
Not inferior to the concubines in the harem.
"Ah Qi." Liu Tongshi couldn't help but say, "The life in this palace is like a fairyland, but it is not something we ordinary people can get involved in. We can live like a fairy by relying on our crafts."
Qixing nodded and said, "Yes, I just rely on my craftsmanship to make a living." He put down the tea bowl and said, "Master Liu, I've finished my drink and gone to work."
What a well-behaved and serious child, Liu Tongshi nodded with satisfaction: "Go ahead, go ahead." Watching Qixing walk among the craftsmen, he picked up a piece of wood and measured it carefully, not caring at all that his hands were stained with ink dust.
Liu Tongshi laughed again, why did he just have the idea that Qixing was attracted by the emperor? He couldn't help but warned that being a nobleman in the palace was not really a good life.
Look at the Queen, the most noble woman in the world, she is also bound to have troubles.
But he really thought too much.
Not to mention that craftsmen like them are not qualified to meet the emperor. Even if they do meet, Qixing is pretty good-looking, but how can the emperor like him with such status?
He had seen the newly favored noble concubine who was said to be Concubine Chen's maid. In fact, she was raised with Concubine Chen. She knew everything about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She was walking gracefully holding the flowers raised by Concubine Chen.
She is really like a fairy in heaven.
Craftswomen cannot be compared with maids from noble families. Craftsmen like them are, to say the least, lowly. What was he thinking?
"The rain has stopped." He looked outside, stood up and shouted, "It's time to go to work."
The craftsmen responded chaotically but powerfully. Some held tools, and some lifted heavy wooden frames. The atmosphere outside the Star Gazing Pavilion was filled with excitement.
After the rain, Dali Temple has not yet resumed its busyness.
It was rare for Liu Yan to stand by the window for a moment.
Of course, people can't be idle.
"What did he say?" Liu Yan turned to look at his personal attendant and asked, "Do you want your son to go back?"
The attendant curled his lips: "It seems that he thinks that his son has been in prison for a while, sir, you have almost vented your anger, so he came to seek some benefits."
Liu Yan said calmly: "What does he want to exchange for me?"
The attendant said: "The rich man Gao said that he is willing to inform the leader of the Mo clan about his whereabouts."
Liu Yan smiled, took a sip of the tea in his hand, and said, "This is not to ask for a son, but to ask me to be his thug."
The attendant nodded thoughtfully: "The wealthy man wants to use you to exonerate himself. Now that Mo Clan has a new leader, the leader is not the one he wants. It is indeed an out-of-control trouble for him.
.”
As an elder of Mo Sect, if you personally harm the leader, you will be a sinner both inside and outside.
Therefore, we need to use the help of Liu Yan, a government official, to get rid of him.
"Sir, do you want to pay attention to him?" the attendant asked, "just continue to sit and watch them fight in the nest."
This was my original plan, so I didn't care about the newly elected leader of the Mo Sect and just focused on the rich man.
Liu Yan turned around from the window and said, "The rich man Gao needs me to be his thug. It shows that he is a little helpless."
It's true that we have to watch the Momen's nest fight, but now it seems that in the Momen's nest, the rich and powerful people do not have the upper hand.
He inexplicably thought of something Huo Lian once said.
"I'm just reminding you, don't raise tigers to cause trouble."
Liu Yan put the teacup on the table. The tiger cub seemed to have made the wolf head unable to control himself.
"It doesn't matter if they fight in the house or if I fight for him, it won't do any harm to me." He said, "Go and talk to him. I agree."
The attendants responded and left. Liu Yan was no longer busy with official matters. He said to the officials, "I'm going to see your Majesty." He straightened his official robe and walked out.
The imperial city gate looked a bit clear after the rain, and there were not many people coming and going. When Liu Yan walked past, someone was walking out. His official robes were a little wet from the rain, and he wiped them off as he walked.
Liu Yan nodded slightly: "Master Li." After saying that, he passed Uncle Li Guo and went inward.
Li Guojiu hummed and immediately came to his senses and called out quickly: "Master Liu, Master Liu." He turned around and followed him and said with a smile, "I heard that Your Majesty asked you to come up with questions for the students, congratulations.
"
Liu Yan returned the courtesy slightly and said, "It is indeed true. I am about to go to the palace to see Your Majesty and resign from this matter."
Li Guoshu looked surprised, thinking he heard wrongly: "Why?"
Liu Yan said: "Official affairs are complicated and I cannot multitask, so I can only refuse."
That's it. Uncle Li Guo said, a little startled. Liu Yan stopped talking to him, gave him a brief salute and continued inward.
"It's really..." Li Guojiu stood in front of the city gate, looked at Liu Yan's back, and murmured, "I'm envious."
He didn't care about such a glorious job. He didn't care about the emperor's favor. It was because he had enough ability to get favor, unlike a relative like him.
When Your Majesty chooses a queen, he must look at his family background.
After choosing a queen, one must also be wary of powerful relatives.
The Li family cannot be high-ranking officials or important ministers, and their children are also restricted from studying and becoming officials. This time, they are not even qualified to be crowned laurels in the Golden Palace.
Even so, they and the Li family recognized that as long as the emperor had respect, love, or respect for the queen, who would have thought that he would have to punish the queen for a lowly concubine after he had only been in power for a few years.
Uncle Li Guo couldn't help but his breath froze when he thought about seeing the queen crying.
"Our Li family has nothing but the clear name of the family." The queen sobbed, "We are not as good as the Chen family, who sit firmly on the southwest border for the emperor, so your majesty can show my face for a little maid in their family."
This is not okay. As a queen, we cannot really only have a clear name. The emperor is wary, but he is also greedy.
What else can be done?
If you can't succeed in writing, you can't use force, if you need people, you don't have them, if you need money...
money?
Li Guojiu's expression condensed, and he thought of something. He looked towards the imperial city again, and Liu Yan's back was still faintly visible.
"Master, master."
The entourage brought carriages and horses outside the city gate. Even Queen Li's family could not stay in front of the imperial city for long. The censor saw it and wanted to impeach her, stepping on Li's name to clear her name.
When the attendant saw that the master was still standing in a daze, he quickly reminded him.
Li Guojiu looked away and walked over, thoughtfully, and got into the carriage.
"Sir, do you want to go back to the Yamen or go home?" the attendant asked.
Uncle Li Guo looked at him and said, "No, go to the Fifth Princess's Mansion."
All the relatives were very leisurely, and Li Guojiu also had frequent contacts with the fifth prince-in-law. The entourage responded and the carriage drove away.