allonlinenovel Chapter 308 Another conspiracy
Chapter 308 Another conspiracy
Chapter 308 Another conspiracy
Yinreng made this trip on a whim without informing anyone else. Even Buerhe, who was basking in the sun and chatting with the Crown Princess in the Imperial Garden, did not get the news.
Today was a rare day of leisure for the mother and daughter, so they took advantage of the suitable temperature and the bright sunshine to go to the greenhouse in the Imperial Garden to look for chrysanthemums for the New Year banquet.
The Qing imperial family loved chrysanthemums the most. Chrysanthemums symbolize good luck, and chrysanthemums are an indispensable necessity in all New Year banquets.
The chrysanthemum is known as the "hermit among flowers" and the "longevity guest" among the "Twelve Guests," symbolizing good luck and longevity. In poetry, the chrysanthemum is used to symbolize people of noble character and abstention from worldly influences.
The greenhouse has put in a lot of effort this year. There are more than 200 varieties of chrysanthemums alone, including both noble and delicate ones, with a wide variety of styles.
Buerhe: "This year, everyone at the Toffee's will receive two pots, regardless of status. This can be considered a gift from the flower room. As for if there are any other ones they would like, besides those already ordered at the annual banquet, the rest will be drawn up and sent to the Toffee. They can choose from the rest. It can also be considered a festive occasion."
The eunuch in charge of the flower room responded gently, "Yes, Your Majesty. This is done every year. According to Your Majesty's instructions in previous years, the servants have prepared everything and are just waiting for your order."
Bull and nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, I'll give you a credit."
After waving his hand to let the eunuch go, Buerhe explained to the Crown Princess, "The six western palaces were allocated by the Emperor for the concubines to live in. They were previously managed by Concubine Yigui. Now Concubine Yigui has left the palace to serve as a resident, and Concubine Tong has also gone to the Princess's residence. The most powerful ones there now are Concubine Mi, Concubine Qin, and others. They are young, and some things they cannot handle need to be handled by me.
Although these are trivial matters, in the Forbidden City, filial piety is paramount, and nothing is trivial. When you take over, you will need to worry about these matters. But you don't have to worry too much. Eunuch Wei, who was by the emperor's side before his death, was assigned by the emperor to guard the harem a few years ago. If there is anything you can't solve, you can go directly to him.
The Crown Princess nodded slightly, indicating that she had heard of this matter. She recalled that her mother had mentioned this matter when she was still at her parents' home.
It turned out that there was another concubine of the late emperor in the palace, who came from a family of bondservants. She was originally the mother of Prince Yong, but later she committed a crime and was directly banished by the late emperor.
After the Emperor ascended the throne, he allowed the princes to take the concubines in their respective palaces out of the palace and take good care of them.
At that time, the demoted empress actually tried to take the opportunity to go to Prince Yong's palace, but for some reason she stopped making trouble afterwards. Coincidentally, at that time, the eunuch Wei, who had served the late emperor for many years, returned to the palace.
Now that I think about it carefully, the emperor must have found this person very annoying, but because of the relationship with Fourth Uncle, it was inconvenient to punish him easily, so he had to send Eunuch Wei, who was deeply trusted by the late emperor, to calm the situation.
By this calculation, this lady should be over 60 years old now, right? It is truly amazing that she can still live so long despite all the hardships she has endured!
After hearing this, Bullhe raised the corners of his mouth slightly and smiled, but did not say anything.
She remembered the rumor clearly, as she had personally instructed it to be spread. After all, she controlled the entire harem, so how could she allow others to spread rumors that were detrimental to her?
However, it seems that this move has indeed begun to bear fruit. At least now, most people outside the palace who heard the news subconsciously believed that there was something wrong with Concubine De, rather than the current emperor deliberately looking for trouble.
You must know that Concubine De had fallen out of favor when the late emperor was alive, and the current emperor has been on the throne for several years, but Concubine De is still able to live in peace. Doesn't this just show how generous and kind the current emperor is to the concubines?
After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arranged the flowers needed for the New Year's banquet, they began to choose their favorite flowers with great interest.
While Buerhe was carefully selecting, she was secretly thinking about giving some to Ageqi as a reward. Just as they were immersed in the joy of selecting flowers, Yinreng also led He Zhu slowly into the plum garden.
It was a coincidence that Yinreng did not send anyone to inquire about Buerhe's whereabouts today. He just wanted to give his queen a surprise on a whim and show the tacit understanding between the two of them, just to add some romance between husband and wife.
And so, as if drawn by a mysterious force, he subconsciously stepped into the quiet plum garden. He secretly thought that perhaps he could have a romantic encounter with Buerhe there. Admittedly, the thought was indeed beautiful, but reality often went against one's wishes.
When he entered the garden with great anticipation, he did not see Buerhe. However, to his surprise, he saw a woman in a thin imperial concubine's dress dancing in the center of the plum garden.
As he slowly approached, the lingering music of the zither became clearer and clearer. The woman's figure was as light as the wind, her dance steps were as graceful as clouds, and her movements were as soft as water, just like a beautiful and moving painting.
It was a pity that she wasn't wearing a long-sleeved dance gown, only a long scarf on her shoulders that fluttered in the wind. This made her dance less graceful and graceful, more like a wobbly, long-necked duck than a soaring, stunning wild goose.
This kind of dancing skill is really hard to reach the realm described by the ancients as "graceful as orchid and graceful as a flying dragon", nor can it show the charm described by Li Qunyu as "only worry about not being able to catch it, flying away to chase the startled swan".
Seeing this, Yinreng couldn't help but frown slightly and stopped walking. After a moment's thought, he lowered his head and whispered to the attendant He Zhu beside him, "Quickly, go and call the eunuch and nanny who manage the plum garden!"
After all, from afar, he had already discerned that the woman was wearing the auspicious attire of a dowager concubine. Now, she dared to openly perform the dance that had made Tang Xuanzong's favorite concubine, Concubine Mei, famous in the Plum Garden. Her underlying motives were self-evident.
The reign title he used was Kaiyuan, but this does not mean that he was a figure like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang!
Moreover, only Li Zhi was so unrefined that he took his father's concubine. Yinreng was not such a shrew. Even if the emperor's concubines were as beautiful as fairies and charming, to him, they were just a bunch of beautiful women withered bones.
Furthermore, the Imperial Garden was located in the area of the East Six Palaces, a place that had always been strictly forbidden for concubines to enter and exit at will. Even if Burhe magnanimously agreed to allow them to enter, it would only be opened for a few short hours during major festivals.
At this moment, there has been no decree from the palace allowing the concubine to move freely, but this concubine appeared here openly. What exactly does she want to do?
What is even more puzzling is how she managed to sneak into this plum garden from the West Six Palaces without anyone noticing?
And who is that person playing the zither? Why aren't the eunuchs and maids who guard the garden here?
Not long after, He Zhu hurried back, accompanied by a team of guards.
This is why Yinreng suddenly decided not to bring the ceremonial guard today, otherwise there would be no need for He Zhu to call them, he could just give the order directly.
With a simple wave of his arm, Yinreng captured the concubine and took her into custody. Meanwhile, the mysterious figure who had been secretly coordinating with her music was also taken away.
Upon hearing the news, Buerhe hurried over with the Crown Princess. Along the way, after listening to He Zhu's narration, Buerhe's eyes were filled with disbelief and astonishment. She could never have imagined that such a large harem, under her meticulous management, could have such a serious oversight!
Soon, Yinreng and Buerhe entered the warm room adjacent to the Imperial Garden. They first interrogated the eunuchs and maids involved. After some questioning, the truth gradually emerged.
It turned out that someone had secretly bribed the nanny's family and promised that if the nanny could help a certain concubine enter and leave the Plum Garden freely without being noticed, she would be promoted and given a lot of gold, silver and treasures as a reward.
As for the eunuch, he had been castrated and entered the palace at a young age, and had no contact with his family. So the other party directly promised him a large sum of money and even used the enticing condition of enjoying a peaceful old age to bribe him.
In this way, despite the strict palace rules, driven by huge interests, the nanny and the eunuch finally chose to take risks, test the law with their own bodies, openly violate the palace rules, and assist the concubine to sneak into the plum garden.
Not only that, the toffee was secretly practicing dancing here, as if waiting for a perfect opportunity.
Faced with such a situation, Bullhe felt very confused and puzzled.
Since she took charge of the harem, she has always used both kindness and power, treating the servants with both generous benefits and strict rules and regulations. Logically, everyone should understand that only by doing things honestly can they ensure peace and wealth.
But why do these people choose to embark on this path of no return? Is it really because the temptation of money and power is so great that it makes people lose their minds?
Bull's doubts were soon explained. The other party gave too much. The maids and eunuchs in the palace who guarded the gardens received three taels of silver a month, plus two sets of clothes.
But just by guarding the palace concubine for a month, and spending a month safely, they can get one thousand taels of silver, and this does not include the possibility of being transferred to a better department in the future.
One thousand taels, for slaves like them, it was too great a temptation. Even if they didn't eat or drink and saved up all the monthly allowance, it would take at least twenty years to save up that much.
And now they can get it in just one month. Do you want to seize this opportunity?
They were unlucky today. They knew that the Queen had gone to the greenhouse, but since nothing had gone wrong in the past half month, and the Queen never set foot in the plum garden, they relaxed their vigilance. As it was cold, they went back and had a drink.
Who could have expected that the emperor would come today, and quietly enter the plum garden with only He Zhu?
After hearing the confessions of the two servants, Bu Erhe and Yin Reng looked at each other. It seemed that this matter was very complicated. One thousand taels was not something a concubine could take out casually.
It seems necessary to ask the concubine.