A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination

Chapter 102: Conspiracy

As soon as you enter Wudemen, the lively atmosphere immediately blows, as if the cold winter will melt away. Brightly dressed maids shuttled from place to place. From time to time, officials and wives passed by with their children. Wu Junru took the young lady of Dingyong Hou’s mansion out, and she had to stop to chat with the ladies of each mansion. I stopped and walked all the way, and it took a while to arrive at the Wude Hall.

Wu De Hall is the dormitory of Empress Dowager Wu. Everything used here is exquisite. There are so many treasures in the harem, each of which must be selected by Empress Dowager Wu before others can turn people. At this time, a lot of people were already sitting in the Wude Hall. In addition to the people who asked for peace, the Queen Mother Cui and the Queen Mother Xia also arrived, and now they are talking with the Queen Mother Wu. Everyone in the hall surrounded Empress Wu, carefully flattering.

Today’s protagonist and Princess Jing are sitting beside the Queen Mother Wu, she sits upright with her long neck raised. She is wearing a long red dress with peony flowers and birds embroidered with gold thread on the skirt, and her head is also full of jewels and hairpins. At first glance, she is as noble as a fairy in a mural, and she easily overwhelms the other princesses. go down.

Wu Junru brought her daughters to greet Empress Wu, and then to Hejing County Lord, Hejing glanced behind Wu Junru and smiled: “It is said that Dingyong Hou Xiao’s family has beautiful women, today is a beautiful woman. See, it really lives up to its reputation.”

Although this is a compliment, the Xiao family girls always feel that something is wrong. Sitting high with Princess Jing, such a tone seems to be admiring something, it is difficult to make people happy. But who made the family the Empress Dowager Wu’s treasure, Wu Junru could only answer with a smile: “The county lord has lifted them up. How can they be compared to the brilliance of the county lord’s bright moon?”

Princess He Jing smiled and acquiesced. She is already married, and her husband’s family is also the family of a prince. In addition, she is less restrained than a boudoir after marriage, so Hejing County Lord often holds banquets of various names, which is very famous among the nobles and is very popular. Hejing is used to listening to men’s praise, and is very conceited about his beauty, but the men not only praised Hejing County Master, but also many people mentioned the Xiao family who purifies beauty, Hejing County Master listened to it twice, and secretly right The Xiao family kept their hearts.

Now that Wu Junru is so sensible, several other so-called Xiao family beauties lowered their heads and dared not to come out, and Princess Hejing felt at ease, so he raised his hand to let go of this.

A lady next to me said: “Hejing County Lord is really shining today, as long as the County Lord sits here, it seems that the hall is lit up. I don’t know if it’s because of my dazzling eyes, I feel that no matter how I look at it. There is brilliance flowing in the county lord.”

The Empress Dowager Wu laughed when she heard this sentence: “It’s not your dazzling eyes, the dress on her body does have a way. This girl has a lot of ghost ideas!”

“Oh?” Everyone’s eyes turned to Princess Hejing, Hejing pursed his lips and smiled, and said, “It’s not a big deal, I just had a whim, and let people put the peacock’s plume on it. The feathers are twisted into threads and woven into the skirt with the gold thread. If you walk into the light, the skirt seems to have brilliance turning, which is indeed more beautiful than ordinary fabrics.”

After hearing what Hejing County Lord said, everyone looked at her skirt and found that the skirt was full of brilliance and looked very good.

Many boudoir ladies sat here with their mothers, and when they heard the words of Princess Hejing, their eyes showed envy.

This is the case in the palace. If you circle in the sun, you may not know how dazzling it will be.

The Queen Mother Xia looked at it for a while, and couldn’t help but ask, “I’m afraid the cost of such a skirt is not small?”

He Jing didn’t care about this: “Just some money.”

Extravagance: “Taixing has moved the crowd. It’s just a big day to wear it. If you wear it every day, I’m afraid it will cost a lot of manpower and material resources.”

This remark made Empress Wu unhappy: “It’s just a dress, Hejing just let her do it if she likes it. What do you care about?”

This is a bit heavy, Empress Dowager Xia was embarrassed for a while, Empress Dowager Cui sat on the side, raised her head and smiled and glanced at Empress Dowager Xia out of the corner of her eyes.

There are still so many foreign wives sitting here, Empress Wu said this, obviously without any regard for Empress Xia’s face. The officials and family members bowed their heads and did not look at the embarrassment of Empress Dowager Xia, but they all thought in unison, saying that Empress Dowager Wu did not like Empress Dowager Xia’s granddaughter-in-law. It seems that outside rumors will never be groundless.

Everyone talked about the new fabrics, the fashionable embroidery patterns, and the outstanding children of various families, and the atmosphere gradually became lively again.

A lady saw that the others were having a good time, so she turned around and smiled and said to Wu Junru: “The mansion of the Marquis of Dingyong is usually a feng shui caretaker. The gentlemen also compete one by one, and Mrs. Xiao has a good way of teaching her son, which is really enviable!”

For no reason, who would ask this for no reason? Wu Junru immediately thought that Xiao Jingye was thirteen this year and Xiao Yuya was ten years old. Could it be that this lady wants to ask about the marriage of her children?

Wu Junru shook her head in her heart. This lady is not a very prominent family, and her children are also very ordinary. The most important thing is that Wu Junru did not intend to let her son be bound so early. It is not too late to talk about marriage after Xiao Jingye has achieved fame. At that time, Xiao Yuya, as Xiao Jingye’s compatriot sister, will also be able to rise. In addition, Xiao Yuya is good-looking, and it is not unreasonable to say that she is a prominent family.

After thinking about it, Wu Junru pondered for a moment, and politely declined: “My sons and daughters are still young, I didn’t think in this direction, it would be fine to keep them for a few more years.”

The opposite lady’s expression stiffened for a while, and then she said with a smile: “I’m asking… it’s the Great Prince of your house, that is, the Marquis of Chengxi.”

Wu Junru’s face was visibly gloomy, she forced a smile and said, “Although I bear his mother’s name, he has always had opinions in the mansion, and I can’t speak in front of him. I’m afraid I can’t handle this kind of thing.”

Wu Junru did not expect that she would be wrong and lose such a big face. She was fed up and left a few nails on her mouth. She deliberately emphasized the words “in the house” and “name”, just to remind others, Xiao Jingduo is a person who is not good at all. It’s not at all the humble and reserved appearance he showed.

“Marquis Chengxi is young and promising, so it is inevitable that he will be tougher.” Unexpectedly, the lady didn’t feel anything after listening to it, but laughed more and more hotly, “Besides, Erlang is no better than a girl. It’s a good thing to have a tough temperament! No wonder Marquis Chengxi was able to achieve outstanding military exploits at a young age and became a prince smoothly. With such a son, I don’t know how many people in the capital envy you, you, just wait After a few years, enjoy the blessing of your daughter-in-law!”

Wu Junru doesn’t think that Xiao Jingduo is her son, what’s more, Wu Junru wants Xiao Jingduo to die alone, and no matter how bad it is, she will marry a rude, willful and useless daughter-in-law. She doesn’t want to enjoy such a daughter-in-law’s blessing Woolen cloth. Wu Junru grinned without smiling, and said, “I’m looking forward to Xiao Jingduo marrying a wife as soon as possible, so that I can enjoy my mother-in-law’s blessings, but it’s a pity that Xiao Jingduo has set up a mansion by himself now, and he doesn’t come back during the festivals. Home, I’m afraid, I don’t have the blessing of being filial to my daughter-in-law.”

Since this lady mentioned Xiao Jingduo, why didn’t Xiao Jingduo know that Xiao Jingduo sealed the marquis of Chengxi and did not live with the family? Sure enough, she was even more satisfied after hearing this. Xiao Jingduo rarely went home. Doesn’t that mean that his wife can take care of herself as long as she gets married, and she doesn’t need to be manipulated by her mother-in-law. How can such a good thing be cheap to other people!

The two ladies were talking here, which gradually alarmed the others. Hejing suddenly became interested when she heard the words of Marquis Chengxi: “Are the two ladies talking about Marquis Chengxi Xiao Jingduo?”

Wu Junru and the lady both stopped and bowed slightly: “Exactly.”

“I have heard about the deeds of Marquis Chengxi for a long time, but unfortunately I have never had the chance to meet.” Princess Hejing smiled, “I really want to meet this legendary man in person.”

Actually, He Jing has met Xiao Jingduo. There have been so many palace banquets these years. But County Master Hejing hadn’t noticed this person before, so in her opinion, she had never seen Xiao Jingduo.

The popular double-sided embroidery came from the county where he took office. For example, he was a high school jinshi for the first time, and he briefly studied with Master Mingjue when he was young.

In short, this is how the mother-in-law looks at the son-in-law, and the more she sees it, the more satisfied she becomes. Many wives are moved to marry their daughters. He is excellent, has a title of honor, and has a solid career. I heard that he is now from the fifth rank. The most important thing is that his back house is very quiet, and there is no pressure from Wu Junru, a difficult stepmother. This is simply acceptable. Unbelievable!

“Oh, what a coincidence!” The ladies laughed, and even the Queen Mother laughed, “It’s better to come early than to come by chance, please come in.”

, but it is far from Xiao Jingduo’s refusal, so Xiao Jingduo can only order a few minutes, sit down and retire early. However, Xiao Jingduo did not expect that he deliberately came a lot late, but just happened to bump into a large group of female relatives who were chatting in the Wude Hall.

Xiao Jingduo met the Prince of Huaian Hou Shizi on the way here, and the two of them made an appointment to greet the queen mothers of the palaces. Xiao Jingduo walked into the Wude Hall and found that there were a lot of people in the hall. He swept it roughly, and only saw a lot of beautifully dressed female relatives sitting on the main seat. He didn’t have the heart to distinguish who they were. : “I have met the empress dowagers, and I wish the empress dowager a long time.”

“Get up.” Empress Dowager Wu’s slow voice sounded from above, she said, “I was talking about you just now, but you came by coincidence. Come closer and let Aijia take a good look. ”

This sounded very strange, Xiao Jingduo couldn’t, and could only take two steps forward.

Xiao Jingduo had already returned to the Hou residence at this time, and deliberately changed into a low-key dress. The Empress Dowager Wu looked at it carefully, and finally nodded: “It is indeed a spiritual one.”

The whispering among the female relatives was even louder. Xiao Jingduo felt that this was not a good thing, so he simply lowered his eyes and did not look at anyone.

When Xiao Jingduo openly asked for war in the morning, many people felt that this young man was not safe, and even wanted to take refuge in Gan Ning to take shortcuts, but when Xiao Jingduo came back from a beautiful victory, he had With real achievements, everyone’s evaluation has also changed. Those without strength will only be considered to be clinging, but if they have strength, then Xiao Jingduo’s performance is not to seek refuge with Princess Ganning, but to be loyal and frank, and to be dedicated to the emperor.

When he walked outside the hall, the Prince of Huai’an smiled and said, “It seems that Marquis Chengxi doesn’t have a wife yet, right?”

Huai’an Hou Shizi has married, and he is more sensitive than Xiao Jingduo to matters concerning men and women. Many ladies in the hall looked at Xiao Jingduo with extremely eager eyes, combined with the shy and timid eyes of the girls, there was nothing to guess.

Xiao Jingduo did not answer, but asked, “Why do you talk about this?”

“It’s nothing.” The Prince of Huai’an smiled and shook his head, “I just envy the beauty of Marquis Chengxi. With Marquis Chengxi’s current status, there will be no shortage of beautiful wives and concubines in the future. People are envious.”

What are these people thinking about every day… Xiao Jingduo said: “I don’t plan to get married in recent years.”

“Sure enough, it’s the same as I guessed.” Huaian Hou Shizi laughed, “I knew that you young and famous young people don’t like getting married. But this is also human nature, people don’t Lovely young boy, you are still young now, and you should enjoy your time. It is not worth it to marry a tigress at home early.”

Nowadays, jealousy is all the rage, even the princes’ families often have daughters-in-law who do not allow their husbands to take concubines or accept the discipline of their mothers-in-law. The shrew is also enough for a jug. Thinking about this, the Prince of Huai’an said with emotion: “You are right to get married later. Even if you marry in the future, you must marry someone with a gentle temperament and a gentle understanding of language, otherwise you will suffer.”

The two talked as they walked, and soon reached the banquet place. When King Jiang An saw the two of them coming, he walked over with a smile and said, “Marquis of Chengxi, Prince of Huai’an Marquis.”

“King Jiang’an.” Xiao Jingduo and Huai’an Hou Shizi bowed in return. King Jiang An was kept in the deep palace since he was a child, and he seldom left the palace. His title and palace were still Gaozu’s death. After Wenzong succeeded to the throne, the queen mother felt that the danger to the outside world was less, so she asked for the title of king for him. Carefully put King Jiang An outside. Because of the living environment, King Jiang An is really quiet and graceful, completely different from King Liang’s boldness and sternness of King Qi, and even the younger King Zheng is more extravagant than him. However, King Jiang An is only eighteen now, and he can slowly hone in the future.

“Why did you two arrive now?”

“I waited to go to see the queen mothers first, and I was delayed for a while on the way, so I wasted my time.”

“So it is.” King Jiang An nodded, but before he spoke, the servant behind him immediately stepped forward and said, “Marquis of Chengxi and Shizi, please come with the slave, and the seat is here.”

Xiao Jingduo didn’t plan to sit for a long time, so he didn’t care about the seats, seating, etc. After he sat down, he gestured for two chopsticks, and planned to wait for the opportunity to retire.

A mere birthday banquet shocked most of the family. Xiao Jingduo sat on the seat, swept the surroundings roughly, and had an estimate in his heart.

The Empress Dowager Wu’s energy is too great, she is the most senior person in the harem, with her backing, even if other people have something at hand, they have to put it down to celebrate the birthday of King Jiang An, although today is not The birthday of King Jiang An.

Who dares to oppose the Empress Dowager of the Three Dynasties?

Xiao Jingduo sighed, he straightened his waist and sat on the seat. A palace maid wearing two buns carried a pot of wine and walked around the palace with small steps, apparently to add wine to each table.

The little palace maid added wine to a table, and then walked towards Xiao Jingduo, Xiao Jingduo’s eyes have been paying attention to this palace maid, why does he feel that this palace maid’s hands are shaking?

Xiao Jingduo looked down at his soaked clothes, then raised his head and stared at the maid silently.

The palace maid stammered: “It was the slave who was careless, please Cheng Xihou atonement. The slave will take you to change your clothes.”

Xiao Jingduo stared at her for a while, until the palace maid was trembling. Finally, he stood up and said, “Let’s lead the way.”

The maid was taken aback, she thought she was exposed, but it turned out to be a false alarm. The palace maid led Xiao Jingduo to turn left and right, Xiao Jingduo didn’t say anything, just followed silently. The palace maid came to a corner, her eyes turned around, and she seemed to hesitate.

“What, you forgot the way?”

“No.” The maid hurriedly turned around and pleaded guilty, “I was dizzy just now, and I wasn’t sure which direction to go, but now I have remembered it.”

“Farewell, just think about it again. You have taken me so far, but in the end you admit the wrong way, am I going to walk in vain?”

The palace maid’s face suddenly turned pale, and a chuckle came from behind the corner: “Marquis Chengxi is really extraordinary.”