Chapter 47: Talking between women

Xiao Mingyu has four beautiful concubines.

He is a prince. According to the royal rules, he should have a concubine and two concubines. These are all destined wives of rank and will be on the roster. If they die in the future, they will be in the royal ancestral hall.

Except for the official concubine and the side concubine, it doesn’t matter how many concubines the prince marrys, as long as he can afford it.

The concubines of the county prince’s mansion are all called "beauties" according to the rules, just like the mansions of other princes and princes, they are given a name.

Just a name, a "beauty", not a fortune teller. In the future, they must have children and only enter the ancestral hall like the concubines of wealthy families.

If there are no children, the beauty is an ordinary concubine, and it doesn't matter whether it is sold or killed.

When Xiao Mingyu was seventeen years old, his sweetheart Cheng Lanqing got engaged with his uncle Xiao Jingcheng, and he was lost for a long time.

His mother left early, and his father also died when he was fifteen years old. Their family was originally the An Prince's Mansion, but because "An Prince" was named the prince and he was just a prince, he added the word "cheng".

The sons of the An Mansion were thin, and Xiao Mingyu had no brothers and sisters. After his parents passed away, he inherited Pang Daye and began to do business secretly.

The royal family and the people compete for profit were impeached by the censor, so he concealed it and only told the emperor.

The emperor and Xiao Mingyu's father, Prince An, are brothers of a mother.

Xiao Mingyu's biological grandmother's surname is Hu, and his grandfather was named "Hu Zhaoyi" when he was alive.

The concubine who gave birth to two princes actually only had a third-rank Zhaoyi. This is a bit strange.

It’s just because Hu Zhaoyi was a palace maid.

She was the palace maid next to the former queen of the late emperor. Empress Liao was soft and crisp, and she had suffered heavy bleeding due to childbirth and could not get children.

At that time, Concubine Xue was favored and gave birth to two more sons, and Liao was very anxious.

She begged the late emperor, and with the approval of the late emperor, she chose a palace maid who could give birth to her and asked her to serve the emperor in her palace. Once she had a prince, she would be fostered in the name of the queen.

The late emperor also wanted a legitimate son, but the imperial doctor said that the queen could never be reborn, so the late emperor agreed to her request.

The legitimate son is crucial to the country.

If there is no legitimate son, letting the concubine's son inherit the throne will set a particularly bad precedent. In the future, the princes will be beaten to death for the throne.

The former emperor himself was supported by the court officials because of his legitimate birth, defeated his capable illegitimate brothers and sat on the throne.

If you don’t support the legitimate and the eldest, how could you have a good life as the former emperor?

In this case, Liao had to give birth, but she had to give birth, so she proposed to use the palace maid's child, and the late emperor agreed.

That's why the late emperor disliked Hu Zhaoyi and refused to look at her more.

The other concubines were loved by the late emperor and had the opportunity to give birth to a child and half of their daughter, but Hu Zhaoyi's situation was completely different.

The concubines gave birth to the imperial heirs to the former emperor for the sake of the emperor; and the princes born by Hu Zhaoyi were given to the Liao family.

The emperor and Prince An were both born to palace maids, but they were fostered under the name of Liao, and both were named "legitimate". They were taught by Liao since childhood, and the two brothers were relatively unfamiliar with their biological mothers.

Liao's health was not good and died when the emperor was twelve years old.

This did not affect the status of the two princes under the Liao family, because they were very lucky, and the sons of the late emperor died one by one, and the two brothers grew up to adulthood.

This incident can also be traced back to the origin: the old emperor was very fat, so he loved women with a slim figure and a waist that had to be fully grasped.

In order to please him, the concubines all hungry themselves to their faces and thin skin, and they looked withered. Even if they were pregnant, they would not dare to eat or drink.

Excessive and abnormal weight loss will make the palace concubines in poor health. The mother's body is unhealthy, and the princes will have more or less problems as soon as they are born.

Some princes barely grew to seven or eight years old, and were weak and sick, and then died; more princes died shortly after they were born.

On the contrary, the brothers of the Emperor and Prince An were originally stronger because their mother was a rough palace maid; and the queen was carefully fed, and she was rich, healthy and strong. Her two children were in good health and lived to adulthood.

After Liao's death, several years later, the first emperor married the new queen Qi again.

Qi's age is about the same as the prince at that time.

When the late emperor dies and the crown prince succeeds to the throne, the women of the late emperor either go to the fiefdom with their sons, or go to the royal temple to recuperate, or stay in the palace.

As for the successor Qi, he must be granted the title of Empress Dowager; and the emperor and Prince An's biological mother Hu Zhaoyi became a troublesome.

There have been no such rules in all dynasties.

The court officials also advocated sending Hu Zhaoyi out. After all, the emperor and brothers grew up in front of Liao and were also fostered under the name of Liao, so they had nothing to do with Hu Zhaoyi.

Hu Zhaoyi, who had been silent in the deep palace, came out to make trouble at this time.

She cried and told the emperor that he was "unfilial".

A hat of unfiliality was pressed down, the emperor and Prince An compromised, and the courtiers also compromised, and Hu Zhaoyi was also named "Empress Dowager".

The two empress dowagers in the palace lived in the two palaces, so they were distinguished by the directions of their respective palaces.

The first emperor followed the Qi family and was called the Queen Mother of the West; Hu Zhaoyi was called the Queen Mother of the East.

This is a private name, not their ban.

So, Empress Dowager Hu is Xiao Mingyu's biological grandmother. Although he has grown up so old, he has hardly seen her.

His parents died, leaving only a grand royal palace for him. Empress Dowager Hu regarded himself as her grandmother and wanted to take care of his marriage.

Empress Dowager Hu herself was a palace maid, a bit vulgar and loving face, so Xiao Mingyu had to obey her.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Hu pointed out a princess to Xiao Mingyu.

This princess has a cunning personality and is greedy and conceited, and she is deeply loved by Empress Dowager Hu because she can curry favor with Empress Dowager Hu.

Xiao Mingyu and her had no mercy.

Maybe God opened his eyes and knew that the little prince did not like the princess, and a serious illness killed the princess.

Then, Empress Dowager Hu wanted to point out Xiao Mingyu's marriage again, and Xiao Mingyu said: "Grandmother, grandson is deeply in love with the princess. There is no better woman than her as a matchmaker. The grandson would rather not marry her for the rest of her life than find someone to replace her."

After hearing this, Empress Dowager Hu believed it.

She never did anything pleasing in her life. Her son despised her, and the princes looked down on her. They all regarded Empress Dowager Cixi Qi as their grandmother, and only Xiao Mingyu cared about her marriage.

She was very moved.

From then on, unless Xiao Mingyu is willing, anyone who dares to tell him about his marriage will be unable to get along with Empress Dowager Hu.

Xiao Mingyu also got peace.

He didn't like children or restraints. He only had four beautiful concubines in the house to live a free life with him.

Even the emperor was afraid that his biological mother, Empress Dowager Hu, would not care about his nephew's marriage.

Xiao Mingyu's four concubines were carefully selected by him. He treated them very well, except that he quietly used medicine to make them infertile for life when they first entered the mansion.

The concubine was like Prince Ancheng's pet. He first "castrated" them, and then indulged them.

So, when the other three beauties came to accuse the prince and said that he would not give them good things and only gave them beauty Cheng, Prince Ancheng was confused: "What good things?"

"Your Majesty, you are still pretending! My concubine's yard is lower than Sister Cheng's yard, and it is closer to the pond, and there are more mosquitoes. Can't you think of my concubine?"

"If you reward Sister Cheng with nine shares, can't you reward one of the concubines? You are too biased."

"Yes, we are always taught to be harmonious. Prince, you are so partial to this, it is clear that we can be harmonious between us sisters."

Prince Ancheng: "..."

He had already forgotten the mosquito repellent that Xue Mei sent to him, so he looked confused and didn't know what nonsense these women said.

"Mosquito coils." Another concubine reminded him, "That fragrance is very useful, not like when we burn mugwort, the smoke in the house is smoky.

This fragrance is not scented. As long as you light it, you can retreat to the house and dare not get close. When the window is opened at night, only a thin gauze window is left, making the room cool and breathable.

Why did the prince give this treasure only to Sister Cheng? Are we not the prince’s people? Sister Cheng plays the piano at Qinglian Pavilion at night, leisurely and contented.

That is the pavilion in the lotus leaf water. Even with the curtains around it, it cannot stop the mosquitoes from coming in. With this incense, you can actually play the piano and sit at night, which shows that it is a treasure."

Xiao Mingyu: “…”

He suddenly stood up and went to Mei Ren Cheng's side.

The other three concubines: "Prince, do you give it to us?"

The servants stopped the three beauties and asked them to go back first.

Xiao Mingyu went to Cheng Meiren and asked her how much mosquito coils were left.

"Prince, are Sister Cai and the others gossiping?" Cheng Meiren stopped obeying, "This treasure is only three of my concubines left, so I will never share them with them. I want to ask the prince to get some more."

“Take it out.”

"Prince, do you really want to give it to them?"

"Take it out quickly!" Xiao Mingyu suddenly raised his voice.

He rarely spoke harshly to his concubines. Meiren Cheng was startled by him, and she turned pale and dared not speak anymore. She obediently gave Xiao Mingyu the remaining three plates of mosquito coils.

Xiao Mingyu got it and walked back quickly.

That night, Prince Ancheng took mosquito coils and his guards to Qinglian Pavilion, which had the most mosquitoes in the mansion.
Chapter completed!