No one knew if Mingde was studying at home or if he was locked up. Qianwandi actually resisted the urge to summon him.
It was not until the beginning of spring that the imperial examination drew near. The head examiner, Ding Huang, reported the list of examinees to the imperial study. Qianwandi saw the words Shangguan Mingde at the top.
Qianwandi stroked the words with his fingers, his face expressionless. After a while, he said, "My dear minister, you have worked hard.
After marking the papers, send the papers of the top three Grand Scholars to me. "
It was not unprecedented for the emperor to personally mark the papers, but it was unheard of for him to read so many papers at once.
Ding Huang hurriedly asked, "Does Your Majesty want to read all of them, or do I want to pick out the best ones and send them to Your Majesty?"
Emperor Qianwandi asked in return, "Shouldn't I personally review the future pillars of my dynasty?"
Ding Huang hurriedly knelt on the ground, "This official obeys Your Majesty!"
Zhang Kuo stood to the side silently, waiting on him. After a while, when he saw that Ding Huang had left, he signaled to the palace maid with his eyes.
The palace maid hurriedly served a bowl of ginseng soup. Zhang Kuo took it and carefully placed it on the desk, "Your Majesty."
Qianwandi suddenly came back to his senses, "Hm?"
Zhang Kuo poured the ginseng soup while asking, "Your Majesty, which palace are you going to visit tonight?"
Qianwandi looked at the jade documents in front of him.
The harem of this emperor in his prime was not plentiful. At most, there were no more than twenty people. Later, Empress Mingrui died, Consort Gui died, and Xia Zhaoyi died. The four concubines were not full to begin with, and because of various reasons, there were no more than ten of them.
Among these ten people, there were some who were of very low status, not favored, and neglected. There were only one or two people who served the emperor regularly.
"Zhang Kuo." Qianwandi pondered for a while, then laughed. "What do you think will happen if I choose a girl in front of Mingde?"
Zhang Kuo respectfully bowed: "Replying to Your Majesty, Young Master Mingde's martial arts are improving day by day. Your Majesty should not take risks."
Qianwandi laughed out loud. "Zhang Kuo, you know that little thing very well... That's right, he's so protective of the empress. He's a rare filial son."
The emperor stood up: "Well, let's go and see what the empress is doing!"
Ever since she was grounded the last time, the Empress had set up a quiet hall in the Winter Warm Pavilion. She recited scriptures and Buddha every day, saying that she was praying for peace for the Dynasty.
The fact that Qianwandi did not get along with the empress was a secret that the entire court knew. The empress did not have a child, did not have the support of a strong maternal family, and was no longer young and beautiful. She had been grounded several times. Everyone felt that her position as the empress was unstable.
But strangely, no matter how cold she was as the empress, she still continued to sit in this position without any signs of moving.
Those who did not know would think that the emperor and empress had deep feelings for each other. Those who knew would feel that the emperor's harem was not plentiful, and he hadn't found a beautiful woman to his liking, so he sent his daughter into the palace.
A while ago, coincidentally, Mingde had been in seclusion to study. The maternal family of the deceased Ding Guifei sent over a shu daughter. She was very charming, and not long after, she was given the title of Zhao Rong.
When Qianwandi arrived at the door of the empress's quiet hall, he heard Ding Zhaorong's young and brash laughter coming from inside: "What gift did the empress prepare for the emperor's birthday?
What is this, is it a handwritten copy of the Prajnaparamita Sutra?
This is the first time I've seen a handwritten sutra, can the empress grant me a look? "
The little eunuch at the door was just about to announce when Qianwandi waved his hand. He stood at the door and listened with interest.
From the exquisite phoenix glass moon door, the empress's voice was steady: "It's rare for a young girl to be interested in something like this. If meimei wants to see, take it."
Ding Zhaoyi happily took it and flipped through it in his hands. As he flipped, he praised: "The empress's handwriting is very beautiful. Meimei also writes the Hairpin Small Regular Script, but it is not as good as the empress's handwriting.
The emperor will definitely like such a thoughtful gift. "
The empress smiled slightly: "What is there to pass the time in the palace? It's nothing more than writing, drawing a few strokes, and passing the time.
If meimei has nothing to do, you can practice a few strokes. Slowly, you'll be good. "
Ding Zhaorong covered her mouth and laughed: "Aiya, I'm not afraid that the empress will laugh at me, but how can I have the time to practice?
The emperor comes every day, and I don't even have a moment to relax. Yesterday, the envoys from various countries came to see me. I thought that I could rest for a day, but who knew that the emperor would summon me to a banquet … "
The empress frowned and wanted to say something, but looking at her innocent face, she couldn't continue.
Ding Zhaoyi had sharp eyes. When he saw the empress frown, he immediately stood up in panic: "What's wrong, empress?
Are you not feeling well?
Should we call an imperial physician? "
Qianwandi gave Zhang Kuo a look. Zhang Kuo immediately said loudly: "The emperor has arrived!"
The bright yellow ceremonial guards stood on both sides of the phoenix door. Qianwandi strode into the palace. The empress and Ding Zhaorong didn't expect him to suddenly appear from the sky and were stunned.
Ding Zhaorong immediately knelt down and rushed forward with tears on her face: "Your Majesty!
Your Majesty, it's not good!
I don't know what slip of the tongue, but I've angered the empress! "
The empress stood up with a solemn expression: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Qianwandi casually waved his hand to indicate for the empress to sit down. Then, he personally helped Ding Zhaorong up and said gently: "The empress is the mother of the country. She is very magnanimous. How can she be angry because of one or two unintentional words?"
He looked up at the empress: "Isn't that right?"
The empress gritted her teeth and forced out a "yes".
"That's good," Qianwandi helped Ding Zhaorong sit down in the chair and asked with great interest: "What did Zhaorong say to the empress?"
Ding Zhaorong smiled shyly: "I saw that the empress's handwritten scriptures were really good. I'm ashamed of my inferiority."
"Is that so?"
Qianwandi reached out and took the scriptures. He casually flipped through two pages and put it down: "If the empress has the time, why don't you take care of the imperial harem and human affairs? It's better than spending time believing in gods and ghosts.
Only superstitious and pedantic people believe in gods and ghosts. As the mother of the country, how can you believe in these things? "
The empress was almost embarrassed by his words and could only whisper: "I'll remember it."
Qianwandi casually threw the scriptures away. Unexpectedly, it happened to hit the long-necked glass bottle on the table. With a "pa" sound, the bottle overturned. The pages of the scriptures were quickly soaked by the water and the words were blurred.
When Ding Zhaoyi saw it, she panicked and wanted to stand up again: "Your Majesty!
This … "
The empress reached out and took the scriptures. She casually put them aside and said calmly: "It's fine if it's destroyed. Sister, don't panic. It's not something valuable."
Ding Zhaorong was still so delicate and timid that she did not dare to speak. On the contrary, Emperor Qian Wan turned to her again, as if his mood was not affected at all. He asked in high spirits, "What did my beloved concubine eat today?"
Ding Zhaoyi carefully glanced at the empress, then carefully counted with her fingers: crystal buns, shrimp dumplings, glutinous rice balls, and so on. She commented one by one on the cooking skills of the cooks, the color of the dishes, and the taste. After a while, the empress's face became more and more ugly.
However, Qianwandi seemed to be unaware of it. He hugged his concubine and teased her in the empress's meditation hall. On the contrary, he became happier and happier.
He just didn't like the empress. They were a pair of resentful lovers.
In fact, the empress was not a big deal. She was virtuous and magnanimous. She never bullied the concubines in the imperial harem and never gossiped.
Even Shangguan Mingde was sent to Qianwandi's bed by her.
However, Qianwandi just didn't like her.
The more Mingde tried to protect her, the more Qianwandi hated her.
Ding Zhaorong spoke happily. Her pink face shyly acted like a spoiled child: "Emperor, it's late. How about …"
Qianwandi suddenly came back to his senses. He suddenly stood up and said coldly: "Empress, you can go rest."
The empress stood up and curtsied without saying a word. Although her face was ugly, of course, no one would pay attention to her.
Qianwandi pulled Ding Zhaorong and was about to leave. Suddenly, a hand reached out from beside him. The hand was holding a gold plate with two cups of West Lake Longjing tea.
Qianwandi's eyes swept over and only saw a guard with his head lowered. He impatiently asked: "What are you doing?"
The guard raised his eyes and smiled slightly. He answered politely and even gently: "This official is serving tea on behalf of the empress and seeing the guests off!"
Qianwandi suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The guard was dressed as Shangguan Mingde, whom he hadn't seen for more than half a month.
Ding Zhaoyi looked blankly at Qianwandi and then turned to look at Mingde.
This guard was very beautiful. This was her first impression. This person was only in his teens. Needless to say, his features were picturesque. There was also a different meaning between his eyebrows. She couldn't tell what it was. It seemed a little cold, a little solemn, and a kind of ruthlessness because his facial features were too beautiful.
He was different from all the people she had seen in the harem.
She couldn't tell what was different about him, but there was a difference.
Everyone in the harem was docile and respectful. This person was ruthless, neat, high up, and piercing like a needle.
Qianwandi suddenly took half a step back and asked in a low voice: "Serving tea and seeing the guests off?
… Who are you giving it to?
Who is the guest? "
If Mingde dared to say at this time, "I am seeing you off as the guest," then Qianwandi couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't do something excessive.
Mingde laughed. With this laugh, there was a kind of bright and even clear expression between his eyebrows: "That's right. All the land under the heavens belongs to the emperor. Of course, the emperor is the master.
Well, since I can't see the emperor off, then this official will drink the tea to see the guests off myself. "
He picked up the cup and raised his head to take a sip. Qianwandi took the teacup away and drank the rest of the tea from where he had just touched his lips.
With a bang, Qianwandi threw the priceless ancient green jade cup to the ground. He went forward and grabbed Mingde's arm, dragging him in front of the empress. He pointed at her nose and asked: "You are the Empress. Do you have to rely on him to help you vent your anger over such trivial matters?
In that case, you don't have to occupy this position!
Let him be the Empress! "
In reality, the empress hadn't thought that Mingde would disguise himself as a guard outside the palace, but she still knelt down without a sound.
"Kneel, kneel, kneel!
You only know how to kneel!
Other than kneeling, what else do you know?
You are a piece of trash! "
Before Qianwandi finished speaking, Mingde suddenly knelt down: "Emperor, please calm your anger."
Ding Zhaoyi panicked and hid behind a red pillar. She couldn't help but glance at Mingde.
Although this youth was kneeling and begging the Emperor to calm his anger, for some reason, she felt that the youth was actually smiling. It was a mocking, disdainful, and cruel smile.
Qianwandi reached out to touch his chin: "What are you begging me for now?"
"This official begs the Emperor to calm his anger," Mingde said, "You are the Emperor. Do you have to scold the Empress to vent your anger over such trivial matters?
In that case, the Empress doesn't need to take up any more of your time. I'm really sorry for delaying Ding Zhaoyi's bedtime. "
These words were said very gently. It could even be said that she was a good woman.
Ding Zhaoyi's mind buzzed.
No one dared to speak to the Emperor like this, unless they wanted to go to the palace and have their entire family killed.
Qianwandi's face twisted as expected. In that moment, everyone had the illusion that he was going to move his fingers from Mingde's chin to his neck and viciously choke him.
"Shangguan Mingde," Qianwandi Li Ji forced the words out from between his teeth, "Do you think that tomorrow is the start of the spring examinations and you already have one foot out of the gates of the capital?"
"This official doesn't dare."
"Zhen can immediately revoke your right to participate in the examinations, do you believe it?"
Mingde continued: "How can this official not believe it."
Qianwandi stared motionlessly at him for a long time. His eyes were dark to the bone, like a beast staring at its prey before it hunted.
Shangguan Mingde kneeled meekly, allowing his chin to be tightly gripped. His long eyelashes drooped down as if he didn't feel like he was about to be torn to shreds.
Qianwandi knelt down on one knee and gripped his chin. He used so much force that his entire upper body was pulled over, almost falling into his arms.
"Mingde," he asked, "are you threatening me?"
Shangguan Mingde laughed: "This official wouldn't dare."
"Then what are you doing?"
"This official knows his mistake."
"What mistake do you know?"
"This official has said," Mingde smiled gently and said slowly: "This official saw that the harem was in chaos and couldn't help but educate Ding Zhaoyi on behalf of the Emperor and Empress as to who was the master of the harem and the mother of the world. Who knew that this delayed the Emperor's favor of Ding Zhaoyi. This is truly a sin."
baimengshu.com
To put it bluntly, this person was petty and held grudges. When provoked over a trivial matter, he would never forget to settle the score.
Perhaps there were many concubines who had openly and covertly protested against the Empress over the years. Perhaps there were more people who were stupid and naive than Ding Zhaoyi. But unfortunately, Ding Zhaoyi's naive and ignorant act of showing off was remembered by Shangguan Mingde.
Qianwandi didn't get angry and laughed: "Good, good!
My beloved official is so cautious and conscientious, how can I not reward you? "
Qianwandi suddenly pulled Mingde up and grabbed his arm like an iron clamp. He didn't care whether Mingde followed or not and dragged Mingde to the door of the hall.
Ding Zhaoyi didn't know what to do and just stood there. Suddenly, he heard a chair crash behind him. He turned around and saw that the Empress had stood up and weakly fell back into the huge and luxurious jade chair.
Ding Zhaoyi said in a trembling voice: "Empress … His Majesty, he …"
The Empress said sternly: "What are you standing there for?"
Her voice had completely lost its usual calmness and dignity, and even gave people an illusion of ferocity.
Ding Zhaoyi's legs turned to jelly. He scrambled out of the hall and desperately chased after the Empress.