Life (II)

Enjoying the cool breeze blowing from the lake, Queen Ma sewed the clothes in her hands one by one. Several little palace maids were serving her, and while urging her hands, she was admiring the queen's craftsmanship.

"This pattern with both good fortune and longevity is really good. I saw it in my hometown when I was very young. A few years ago, my aunt was pregnant. The pattern that my family finally found was just because no one could embroider it." A little palace maid with an oyster face said in admiration.

"That's right, that's right, besides the queen's unparalleled craftsmanship, who can embroider this pattern?" A smaller palace maid who was a little more fanned was envious and praised.

"That's right, this craft is only available in the palace. People without blessings will have the chance to see it." The words of the few little girls are as cheerful as the swallows in spring.

"You little girls don't try your best to make me happy. When you get older, your work is not as good as before." Queen Ma stopped the work in her hand, leaned her head on the back of the recliner, and closed her eyes tiredly. Starting this spring, her body bones became particularly weak. The imperial physicians looked at it a few times and prescribed several doses of tonics, but they were not sure what to do. After summer, the left chest also started to hurt slightly, and the armpits and neck were swollen. The place where the cake was hidden for Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly dark red. In previous years, I felt uncomfortable for a few days and I could pass it, but this year I had to wait for more than three months before I saw it. It was easy to get tired when I was working.

"I am not old, and the Empress is not old at all. I heard from the sisters in the palace that the Queen's skin has become more and more delicate in recent years, and she is kind and kind, just like the painting of Guanyin Bodhisattva, which makes people look friendly."

"Yes, my servants all say in private that the Empress was the reincarnation of Guanyin and benefiting the people."

Several palace maids were chirping and echoing, walking around the palace. The lip service was the top priority. When they entered the palace, they began to practice hard. Queen Ma had always been kind to the palace maids, so these people were photographed more and more naturally.

"All right, don't just talkatively. I know myself and you. Our palace is different from other places. You guys who have the skills to practice lip service are better than to learn to learn the girl's red, so as not to find a suitable person to get married after leaving the palace in the future."

"Then I will not leave the palace and serve the Bodhisattva Empress for the rest of my life." The little girl who was playing the fan immediately gave a countermeasure.

"Sister Qixia is right, then we will serve you for the rest of our lives"!

Queen Ma smiled and said, "You will never get married after serving me for the rest of your life? The most important thing about a woman's family is to have a good home. You are people around me. When you reach age, you can't waste your great years. Girls' youth is very short, and no one will marry you after 18 years old. Are you really willing to be a white-headed palace maid and finally a veteran?"

"If no one wants me, I will follow the army, follow the empress and be a female Mulan. If I really don't succeed, I will join the medical team of the Northern Army and gallop on the battlefield for the country." The oval-faced girl thought about it and said seriously while slapping Queen Ma's back.

When the army was mentioned, a few traces of worship appeared in the eyes of the palace maid who was playing the fan, and the words were as passionate as the general who stepped on a war horse: "Go to the army to be a hero among the girls, just like Princess Ping'an, choose a good husband in the army of ten thousand horses, so that my name will be spread throughout the world, and make the Queen Bodhisattva happy for Qixia."

"Yes, two days ago, we heard Sister Chunhong, who was accompanying you to relieve your boredom in the palace, said that even if you can't marry a hero like Wuhou, you still have to marry a powerful man on the battlefield. It's better to be a coward who can't even carry his schoolbag and walk in the world in vain." The oval-faced palace maid is called Biyun, and Qixia, who holds a fan, is always the most favored by the queen, and they also speak the most presumptuously.

Chunhong in the palace maids' mouth was the daughter of Zhu Yuanzhang's distant brother and relative. She was born in a vain. Empress Ma liked this child very much and always wanted her to be a pair of sisters with Liu Ling, but unfortunately she didn't get a definite answer from Liu Ling. Seeing the oval-faced palace maid in front of her mentioned Wu'anguo's eyes, she thought of it and joked with a smile: "Biyun, can you little girl want to enter the mansion of Pingliao Marquis? Your sister Liu Ling is pregnant, and there is just a shortage of a bun and a quilt next to Wu Hou."

"Yes, Sister Biyun, do you like to be your companion with Princess Ping'an? If you really like it, let the Queen Bodhisattva be kind and point you to Marquis Wu as a concubine. You will be intimate against a great hero every day." Several other palace maids followed suit and joked around the oval face.

"Mr. Wu is so tall and handsome, it's okay to have a few more wives." Xiao Qixia shouted loudly while fanning her.

"Yes, yes, Princess Ping'an is also a generous person and will definitely not be angry with you. Please beg the queen to marry with Sister Chunhong. Anyway, Sister Chunhong can tell you."

The palace maid called Biyun blushed with cheeks and almost bleeding from her earlobes. She wanted to argue but didn't know where to start. After a while, she lowered her pink neck and murmured: "It has been a blessing I have cultivated for several lifetimes. How dare I be him think about it again? Besides, with such a high status as Master Wu, although I am not good at it, I still have this self-knowledge."

At the end, whether it was urgent or ashamed, tears flowed out, fearing that Queen Ma’s clothes would wet, so she reached out to wipe them randomly.

"Silly child"! How come Queen Ma didn't know what this personal palace maid who had been serving her for several years was thinking. She sighed and comforted in a low voice: "Since ancient times, what's wrong with my daughter's family likes heroes. You have served me by my side for so many years, and I have always regarded you as a daughter. How can I not understand what you think? The child I taught me to give to the prince as a side room is not his blessing. As long as you like and say it out, I can't help you with this little effort. But only this Wuhou,

The palace really can't help. I thought it was your sister Liu Ling who was young and unwilling to share the favor with others, so she was strict in the family. A few days ago, I saw that even the palace maid brought by the princess when she got married was still a perfect match. Only then did I know that the love between the couple of Pingliao Hou was so affectionate and could not tolerate any gap. Sister Chunhong knew that her thoughts had failed, and she had been crying when she hid for several days. I advise you to see other young heroes, don't put your mind on this unventilated fool, why bother to miss yourself for a hopeless expectation."

The palace maid named Biyun sighed lightly and replied softly: "The Empress is as kind as a mountain to me. I obey the Queen's arrangements. I can really serve the Queen for my whole life. It is also a blessing for me. Others can't ask for it." The tears in my eyes finally fell and silently dripped into the soil under my feet.

Seeing that the palace maids were cold, they quickly found an opportunity to distract the topic elsewhere. After saying a few words, they didn't hear the quick-talking palace maid Qixia's helping to speak. They were surprised. If it were usual, this clever little girl had already distracted the topic to Boni Country. After looking closely, the fan in Xiao Qixia shook, and she didn't know which side she was going to. Her bright eyes stared at the lake, as if it were wet, and she was heartbroken and silent.

Everyone did not expect that Qixia's thoughts were also on Wu'anguo, and she was afraid of making Queen Ma unhappy. In a panic, a tall woman smiled and said, "In fact, there is more than one hero in Wuhou. I think that Master Cao, the Marquis of Jinghai, is more casual than that. When he was young, he was a hero and wanted to revenge. This time, he brought the navy to beat the little Japanese so hard that he could not give him a thumbs up. Besides, he heard that Lord Cao had never married after becoming a widow in a young age. He really did not even have to do a side room. If I were Sister Chunhong, I would choose Marquis of Jinghai, and ride a warship with him to chase the wind and waves, which made ordinary couples envious..."

The tall palace maid became more and more excited as she spoke. Later, her eyes shone and her cheeks were slightly red, as if she had really become Mrs. Cao Zhen.

Everyone was infected by her ill-fated smile, and the atmosphere immediately became active again. A little palace maid in pink clothes smiled and said, "If you want to say that, marrying Marquis of Jinghai is not the best choice. I heard that the navy captain Chen Hao and the commander of the guards of the Zhenbei Army Zhang Zhengxin are both young and old. I don't know if they are engaged. If Sister Chunhong chose them, they will not only be heroes and beautiful, but also have a fair and beautiful age. Especially the young master Zhang, I heard that he is pure and pure, just like the legendary Zhao Zilong, and he is young and has a nod. His father is also the leader of the Peking Merchant Group. His status and family background are both first-class. His achievements may not be inferior to his master Marquis Wu. Maybe he will be better than his younger brother than his younger brother."

After she mentioned this, everyone chirped and listed all the young talents that could be found. In recent years, the Ming Dynasty struggled to expand its territory, and a large number of young heroes emerged in the army. There were no less than fifty people who could call out names and official ranks casually. In the end, some palace maids simply gave Queen Ma an idea, suggesting that when the emperor summoned the meritorious soldiers next time, the queen secretly hid Princess Chunhong behind the curtain and let the princess choose from it himself.

Since the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains have emphasized literature over military affairs. At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many measures have been taken to suppress the country for domestic stability. However, in recent years, with the deliberate promotion of people such as Wu'anguo, Guo Pu and others, each issue of "Peking Spring and Autumn" and "Beiping Xinbao" spent a lot of time introducing heroic stories in foreign wars. These stories quickly became the material for some storytellers in teahouses and restaurants. Although the style of several local newspapers in Jiangnan was weaker, in order to please readers, the text gradually became more of a bronze drum and iron zither. In the past few years, the trend of martial arts among the people has risen, and the military has gone from being forced to become a fashionable choice for young people to pursue. In the dream of girls, Ruyi Langjun was not the original weak scholar, but replaced by a iron-blooded man who was scolding the wild and clouds.

Seeing that the palace maids were getting farther and farther away, Queen Ma spat on the ground and pretended to be angry: "You are not helping the princess to choose, it is clearly for you to choose. I don't know which one said that she would serve me for the rest of her life."

"I dare not." Several little palace maids chirped like frightened sparrows and disappeared. They secretly saw the queen's face with a smile on her face, and then slowly said: "I'm just thinking about my sister Chunhong. I can't bear to be sad when I look at her, nor can I bear to look at the Queen Bodhisattva."

Queen Ma glanced at the palace maids, and her face became even more smiling. In the beginning of February, when she was as big as them, her eyes followed the heroes in her heart? Alas, after all, she was old, and I was so envious of their smiles. She let out a gentle breath and cursed, "A group of young girls who love spring are still stubborn now. Don't worry, next month, the navy returns to the court, Long live and I will hold a banquet in the Imperial Garden to reward the meritorious soldiers. If anyone wants to get married, he will follow me that day, and take care of his seat, picking up the right match and watching his eyes. I will give him your seat. By age, you should almost find a home. If you send you out, I will have a clear ear."

"Who is planning to get a navy? I said that I am restless when I go to court today and always want to sneeze." As soon as Queen Ma finished speaking, the voice of an elderly man rang out of the crowd.

"Long live the welcome", Empress Ma quickly stood up from her seat and took the palace maids to salute Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang dispersed the court early today. When he returned to the palace, he remembered that he had not seen his queen for several days, so he brought the eunuch to the garden. He heard the palace maids discussing who is more handsome in the military generals. He felt interesting in his heart, so he stopped the eunuch's report and tiptoed to listen carefully. When he was about to laugh, he heard that the queen was going to take the palace maids and porters, and couldn't help but joke.

Seeing that Empress Ma was about to kneel down, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly stepped forward and helped his wife. His wife's health was getting worse day by day, and husbands understood more than anyone else. Whenever he was sleeping in the queen's harem, he felt infinite pity in his heart. If it weren't for the cakes hidden in Queen Ma's chest, Zhu Xianfeng would have been bent down in the Hall of Yama, let alone possessing the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers in front of him.

"You all get up too." Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed his hands, which were no longer delicate, and pulled his wife up, and then gave instructions to the palace maids.

Several palace maids stood up in a hurry. They first found a piece of coarse cloth to clean the stone bench beside Queen Ma, put a silk mat on it, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to sit down, and then tactfully went to the side so that it would not prevent the couple from talking.

Holding his wife down, Zhu Yuanzhang admired his wife's skills while angrily: "Why do you do this even if you know you are in poor health? Just let the palace maids do these things. I really don't like their skills. There are embroidered girls outside. What should I do if I get tired and sick? Can't I get addicted to drinking the bitter medicine soup?"

Queen Ma picked out a half-sewn sweatshirt from the unfinished pile of clothes, compared Zhu Yuanzhang's slightly fat body, used her thumb and index finger to measure it a few times, and said with a smile: "Can I make it a combination of what I made for you? This cotton cloth from Songjiang Prefecture is specially made by Yujia, and it is the most comfortable to wear for meat. Tonight you can try the size first, and I will use it for water tomorrow and beat it a few times. This cloth is not only not bad for washing, but also softer as it goes."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt warm in his heart, raised his hand and lifted away the black hair that Queen Ma fell on his forehead, and smiled and said, "That is, you are the emperor of Ma. I still sleep in armor, so there is no need to take care of it so carefully."

"When I can do it, I will naturally do my best for Your Majesty. I also know that you are not short of these pieces of clothing. The machines on the outside are made of finer than the stitches that are sewn by people, but I can't rest as I can't spare myself. Besides, even if I do it, I don't know how many pieces I have to do for Your Majesty."

"You are not a serious illness, so why do you need to say such despicable words?" Zhu Yuanzhang held his wife's hand and tightened his eyes. "Chen Shitai has been ordered to go to Beijing and will be here early next month. I have already opened a national medical department in the Academy of Sciences to specialize in thinking about these difficult and complicated diseases. Our husband and wife are not the same as before. Now there is money in our warehouse. Even if I use gold, I will cure you."

"Your Majesty, you hurt me." Queen Ma sighed softly and stopped talking.

"I, I don't allow you to abandon me anyway. This is an imperial edict. You can't resist. If King Yama dares to violate it, I will send troops to demolish his Fengdu Ghost City." Zhu Yuanzhang let go of his hand a little and still hold it firmly, as if his wife would disappear from his eyes as soon as he let go.

Queen Ma gave her husband a sweet smile, and she looked radiant in that moment, as if the lost youth had returned to her. "It's all an old husband and wife, and she still says these numb words, and she is not afraid of making people laugh. I will not abandon you. From the day I marry into your Zhu family, I have decided to follow you forever and never separate."

"I will never abandon you. No matter how old you are, you are my only queen." Zhu Yuanzhang held his wife's hand hard again, turned his head and shouted to the eunuchs and palace maids, "Get away and serve me, haven't you seen this hot place small?"

"Yes", the eunuchs and the palace maids walked away in scattering, and a few naughty ones stuck out their tongues at the same time, hiding away from the distance where they could not hear the two of them talking.

After appreciating several clothes in the basket one by one, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes fell on the children's clothing that was almost completed. These pretty tiger-headed shoes and soft bellybands all evoke the memories of his first child back then. He gently arranged a few children's clothing. Zhu Yuanzhang asked happily: "Which concubine is pregnant with my dragon seed again? Why don't I know? Or is it our princess who is happy? Is it the queen? No wonder you have been uncomfortable for months, these quack doctors who are killed?"

"Isn't that the old clam has pearls? The emperor is just telling jokes," Queen Ma smiled and said, "It's your adopted daughter, Princess Liu Ling, that bald silly boy is going to be his father."

"It turns out that it's Wu'anguo, the little boy who makes you so tired. If you want to be ungrateful, I will slap him in public in front of the civil and military officials in the court." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "But Liu Ling, a little girl, can play tricks, and she may not be able to be on the table when she becomes a female girl. It's also a blessing that the queen is thoughtful for the couple."

"Their family has few relatives and only a few servants. Wu Anguo is unwilling to take a concubine. Liu Ling is pregnant, so naturally no one prepares these for him. Long live the opportunity to persuade Wu Anguo that boy, so that he has to find a sister for Liu Ling, so that he will not be deserted when he leaves the capital." Queen Ma glanced at several palace maids in the distance and whispered in a low voice: "Not only our Chunhong, but Qixia and Biyun around me seem to have put their thoughts on the stupid boy. I really don't know what he likes."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. Empress Ma didn't know what the daughters had liked the fool, and she didn't know what the fool had valued. She would be worried if she gave her a heavy responsibility, and would be unwilling to give it up. "Let me tell me, Xiuying, do you think I've been a little harsh in my caressing the fool, so I'm determined to compensate him."

When Empress Ma heard Zhu Yuanzhang call his name, she knew that her husband wanted to hear the truth at this moment. She sighed and said quietly: "We decided to marry Liu Ling to him, and took away his military power with the excuse that the prince consort was not allowed to lead the army. Seeing that he was obedient, I was uneasy. Now, even the merchants of Peking who started his business had thrown him aside, I felt even more sad for him. Although the rank of Marquis of Pingliao is not small, it is a blank air.

There is no support, if you have any power in your hands, you may not be as good as a prefect. The ministers in the court who were dissatisfied with the new policy are still on his fingers, trying their best to find his mistakes every day. The couple's life looks happy, but they are actually careful every step of the way. So I think we will arrange more women for him so that he can't leave his name to Lingyan Pavilion, or at least be a farmer surrounded by wives and concubines. Otherwise, how can our Zhu family be able to withstand Gao Yi who sacrificed his life to save Di'er repeatedly."

Zhu Yuanzhang also sighed with Empress Ma and turned his eyes to the distance. The wind blew on the lake, and the green waves rippled, and the lotus leaves of the fields were filled with water like chess pieces. As a king in charge of the world, he seemed to make a random move, and no step was done after careful consideration. "It's good that he has no support, so he will work harder for the royal family. When I pass the throne to the crown prince, he will naturally hand over the power to him. It's not possible now. The edges of this boy have not been smoothed out, and he has some troubles with authority. In fact, I didn't treat him badly. Although I didn't invite him to the cabinet, I kept him in the imperial study room for questions more than several cabinet ministers, and almost always obeyed. Based on this point alone, those ministers who want to impeach him must consider it."

"Does Your Majesty still doubt his loyalty? Looking at the court, he is probably the most selfless minister."

"It would be great if I could find out that he had selfish intentions. That's how I felt more and more at ease. Not only that, none of the civil and military officials in the court saw that things were as long as he did, and they always expected the ending without waiting for things to happen. I thought that as soon as the sea ban was opened, he suggested that I change the silver to the gold.

Queen Ma stopped talking. She was so smart that she could hear the jealousy in her husband's words. If there was a concubine in the harem who was as good as a god and was always in front of her, she might not be able to face it calmly. But if this continues, how can she be worthy of Liu Ling's filial piety to her on weekdays? Once she can't see it one day, will her husband still remember the original intention of leaving Wu'anguo to be the assistant minister of the crown prince?

Just as hesitating about how to say good things for Wu'anguo, he heard her husband say, "I am not jealous of him, I am just worried that he is hiding his true purpose now. In ancient times, great traitors and evil people seemed to be not a great sage. At present, my trust in him can only end here. Xu Zhichen and others suggested that I squash coins, but I entrusted it to the Marquis of Pingliao without hesitation. This morning, this kid suggested that I double the number of county schools in the world and the prefecture schools to restore ancient imperial numbers in the county schools.

I have followed the two departments and the government paid the rice and grain of the Tongsheng. I have all followed them one by one. When he argued with Shao Zhi, he said that it was a shame for the country to let children from poor families not be able to read books, and I did not blame him for being rude for the court's dereliction of duty. I thought that when I used Hu Weiyong, I did not reach the point of relying on every strategy. But this kid is quite strange. He has never used my trust to arrange private people. Strange, he really seems to have never blocked me from using the use of the use or abandoned any ministers."
Chapter completed!