Although the words of the eunuch who announced the edict were somewhat exaggerated, the emperor's imperial edict conferring the conferment on Mrs. Shen Yi as the last edict of this year might actually have some different meanings.
After talking to Shen Yi, Lu Ruoxi thought for a while and asked: "Husband, after I receive the imperial decree, should I go to the palace to express my gratitude?"
Mr. Shen stretched out his hand and scratched his head.
He didn't quite understand the rules in the court, but fortunately there was someone at home who did. Shen Yi walked back to the main hall of his house. Zhang Jian was still drinking tea with the old god there. When he saw Shen Yi coming back, he smiled Said: "Mrs. Shen has been appointed?"
Shen Yi nodded and said: "I was about to ask my brother if he would like to go to the palace to express his gratitude after receiving the imperial edict, and to whom should he express his gratitude?"
"The imperial edict and the imperial concubine's robes have not been issued yet. Why should I come to the palace to thank you now?"
Zhang Jian said with a smile: "After the things from the imperial court are handed out, after the Chinese New Year, when the palace receives the married women, just go to the palace with the newly appointed ladies from Jiankang to thank you. As for who to thank..."
He lowered his head and took a sip of tea, and said without thinking: "The Queen Mother is still here, so naturally I want to thank the Queen Mother."
The implication of this sentence is that if the Queen Mother is gone, go and thank the Queen.
"Speaking of things in the palace..."
Zhang Jian seemed to have remembered a piece of gossip. He put down his tea cup and smiled at Shen Yi: "In the middle of this year, His Majesty took a girl from the Lu family as his concubine. Does Zi Heng know about this?"
"Know."
Shen Yi nodded and said, "I happened to be in Jiankang at that time, and I heard about it."
Zhang Jian chuckled and whispered: "I heard that Concubine Hui is about to give birth..."
Shen Yi frowned subconsciously and said, "Brother, don't talk nonsense. How can a woman who has only been in the palace for half a year give birth? You..."
He coughed: "You are talking nonsense, be careful of getting yourself into trouble."
"It came from the eunuch in the palace."
Zhang Jian rolled her eyes at Shen Yi and said angrily: "I'm just telling you. I won't mention a word to others."
"I heard that the eunuch who talked nonsense..."
Zhang Jian whispered: "I have been beaten to death by the palace..."
Shen Yi was a little helpless: "He was beaten to death, and senior brother still dared to pass on his words."
Shen Yi is very familiar with that woman from the Lu family, Concubine Hui of the Hong De Dynasty.
Gu Hengbo of the Qinhuai River.
Shen Yi arranged her entry into the palace.
When she entered the palace, she was already more than three months pregnant. Because of this, the emperor was anxious to let her enter the palace, because if it was a month or two later, the Gu family's belly might show that she was pregnant. Now, it will be very difficult to enter the palace again.
And the child in the belly will also become an illegitimate child.
Therefore, he hurriedly "adopted" Miss Lu as his concubine from Lu Qingzheng's house in Dali Temple.
Counting the days, she entered the womb three or four months into her pregnancy, and now half a year has passed, and it is indeed time to give birth...
It stands to reason that this kind of thing must be kept strictly confidential in the palace, especially the people in Concubine Hui's palace. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will definitely arrange it properly and will not let anyone spread a word of gossip. First, the child After giving birth, he raised her in secret for four or five months and then announced to the public that Concubine Hui had given birth to a child.
Then the identity of this child is justified.
But now, the news about this child has somehow spread outside the palace!
Even Zhang Jian heard this gossip.
Then there must be something fishy in this.
If nothing else, it was probably the descendants of the Sun family.
Because of this kind of royal tidbits, scandals and gossip are very vital. Even if there is no news from the palace, the people may make up a drama like a civet cat for the prince. Now there is news that the princess will give birth to a child within half a year of entering the palace.
When it comes out from the palace, the public may not know what the magic will look like.
By then, no matter whether Concubine Hui gives birth to a prince or a princess, she will probably be talked about in private for the rest of her life.
"Harmful…"
Zhang Jian is an optimistic and cheerful person. He waved his hand nonchalantly: "If you talk to my brother in private, why don't you, Shen Ziheng, go back and sue me in the palace for spreading rumors?"
"Not always."
Mr. Shen smiled and said, "I might really want to go to the palace soon."
"It's already this day, why are you still in the palace?"
Zhang Jian said carelessly: "Your Majesty also has to live a happy life. If you have anything to do, we will discuss it after the New Year. Let Your Majesty spend the New Year with peace of mind."
Shen Yi smiled slightly: "Of course there is no rush to enter the palace. We brothers, let's have a good drink today. After I drink you down, senior brother, I will consider whether to enter the palace."
"boast!"
Zhang Jian smiled and cursed: "Zi Heng went to the southeast, and his tone became much louder. In Jiankang City, you can drink better than me."
He held out five fingers and said in a rather confident tone, "It's within five fingers."
Mr. Shen stood up and said with a smile: "The food and wine are ready, senior brother please."
Zhang Jian stood up with a smile and followed Shen Yi to drink.
…
An hour later, Mr. Zhang fell to the ground and was completely unconscious. Brothers Shen Yi and Shen Heng carried him to the Shen family's wing to rest.
Shen Yi was only 40 to 50% drunk at the moment. After thinking about it, he put on his official uniform and walked towards the palace.
After entering the palace gate all the way, Shen Yi came to the gate of Deqing Palace where the emperor lived, and knelt on the ground to thank him.
Generally speaking, when a Beijing official receives a reward or is promoted, he must enter the palace to express gratitude. However, generally only the emperor who is of the third rank or above will receive him. Those who are below the third rank will kowtow at the gate of Deqing Palace.
He said that he had come and it would be fine.
Although Mr. Shen himself did not receive any reward this time, the imperial edict of the Shen family was given to his late mother, so he wanted to go to the palace to express gratitude for his late mother.
Otherwise, some censors would accuse him of being unfaithful and unfilial.
Mr. Shen is a fifth-grade official.
Therefore, he was also ready to kowtow and end the matter.
After kowtowing at the gate of Deqing Palace, Mr. Shen got up from the ground and prepared to go home for the New Year.
As soon as he turned around, a young eunuch chased after him. He finally caught up to Shen Yi, bowed his head to Master Shen and said, "Scholar Shen, Bachelor Shen!"
"His Majesty summons you!"
Shen Yi looked back at Deqing Palace, a little curious: "Your Majesty is not in Ganlu Palace?"
The current emperor doesn't like Deqing Palace very much and spends most of his time working in Ganlu Palace.
The young eunuch lowered his head and said, "We are all in Deqing Palace today."
Shen Yi nodded and said with a smile: "Then little father-in-law, just lead the way."
Under the leadership of this young eunuch, Mr. Shen entered the Deqing Palace smoothly. After walking around the palace for a while, he saw His Majesty the Emperor, who was reclining on a soft couch and reading a book.
Mr. Shen stepped forward, bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, Shen Yi, is here to see you."
The emperor's eyes moved from the book in his hand to Shen Yi's face, and then he snorted: "I'm here, waiting for you all afternoon."
Shen Yi quickly lowered his head and said, "I am scared..."
"I originally wanted to go to the palace immediately to express my gratitude, but unexpectedly I had some family matters that prevented me from leaving, so I came late. I beg your Majesty to forgive me..."
"Is there something you can't leave?"
The emperor glanced at him: "Are you going to drink with Zhang Jing's grandson?"
Shen Yi smiled awkwardly, lowered his head and stopped talking.
The emperor then sat up straight. He stared at Shen Yi for a while, and then said silently: "Have you heard about what happened in the palace?"
Mr. Shen looked confused and looked up at the emperor: "Your Majesty, you are talking about..."
“Don’t be pretentious.”
The emperor said in a low voice: "In terms of being well-informed in Jiankang City, apart from me, I am afraid that you, Shen Sizheng, are the only one who is well-informed."
His eyes were dark.
"Think of a way for me."
"Cut down the arrogance of those people."
From what the emperor said, it seemed that he was angry with the messenger in the palace.
However, this matter is actually not a big deal.
To put it bluntly, the worst outcome is that Concubine Hui's reputation is ruined and she cannot hold her head high in the palace.
As for the child in her belly...
Regardless of whether you are a boy or a girl, it doesn't really matter what your destiny is in this life. After all, the emperor is still so young. If you want to have children, if you choose more beautiful girls to enter the palace, you can give birth to as many princes and princesses as you want.
But the emperor still chose to stand up for Concubine Hui.
Then there are only two possibilities.
One possibility is that the emperor wanted to use his strength to further weaken the arrogance of his descendants.
And the second possibility is...
The emperor was indeed deeply moved by the Gu family.
And considering that the descendant Sun family is actually the mother clan of the emperor, the second possibility becomes even greater.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi looked up at the young Emperor and sighed slightly in his heart.
You are a person who was born to engage in politics. Why should you be so emotional?
Seeing that Shen Yi looked strange and refused to speak, the emperor narrowed his eyes.
"If you don't give me any advice, I'll ask Gao Ming to tell the story of Mrs. Ye from Fuzhou Prefecture in Di Bao."