The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Just as several people were talking.

Suddenly, a maid walked in from outside the door. She stood by the door and saluted to the people, saying, "Madam, uncle, cousin, the front doorman said that the Marquis has returned. He has to change his clothes before meeting the guests."

"Eh?" Xie's mother looked at the sky and asked in confusion, "It's not time for him to finish school yet, why did he suddenly come back?"

Xie Yi studied in the Linzhi Hall of the palace with other princes and princesses, and usually did not come back until after the hour of You.

Just when Xie's mother was worried about whether something had happened in the palace, Xie Yi did not let everyone wait too long. He changed into casual clothes and came to the main hall. The child politely greeted his uncle and "cousin" whom he had never met before, and said polite words like a little adult: "I wonder if my uncle and cousin are used to living in the capital. If there is any inconvenience, please let me know."

"Then I would like to thank the young marquis in advance." Seeing that he had an androgynous appearance, more delicate than herself when she was a child, Lin Qiao understood more and more why the people she met, the higher their family background, the less likely they would brag about their appearance.

Perhaps it was because the boys in their families were raised as carefully as Xie Yi, and not as roughly as himself, who had been running around in the fields since he was a child.

"We are family relatives, so it's fine if my cousin doesn't bother to be polite with me." Xie Yi nodded seriously, and then said to the person guarding the door, "Please bring in the things that my mother gave to my uncle and cousin."

After saying that, he turned back and continued to look at Lin Qiao, the strange but slightly familiar "cousin", and said: "Mother was very happy to hear that my uncle and cousin were here, and asked me to bring some things along. Don't worry, cousin, they are not over-the-counter items, just use them, and don't skimp on them."

"I and my father would like to thank the queen and the young marquis. You love and cherish us so much that we are really at a loss..." Lin Qiao felt that she was about to be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of this family, and old man Lin's tongue had completely failed. No matter what his daughter said, he could only nod.

Xie Yi did not think that Father Lin was being rude. Instead, he could not help but nod his head in unison: "Uncle, you are too polite. My name is Xie Yi, and I don't even have a given name. My nickname is Tan Nu. Just call me by my name, uncle. There is no need to be so formal."

He looked so young and well-behaved that Lin Qiao suddenly felt that if she did not accept the family's enthusiastic invitation, she might not be able to leave the mansion today.

It's just like what the Xie family said, they are relatives, even if Lin Qiao intends to distance themselves from him, in the eyes of outsiders, they are still hard to tear apart, and...others have welcomed him so warmly, Lin Qiao, who was originally planning to take advantage of Concubine Zhao and the Yongjia Marquis' Mansion, naturally would not continue to be reserved like a rigid old-fashioned person.

"Then I won't be polite to Tan Nu." After confirming his thoughts, Lin Qiao quickly changed his attitude and took out a jade pendant carved into the shape of a dragonfly from his sleeve. "I came here in a hurry and didn't bring anything good. This is made by me. Tan Nu, take it and play with it."

No longer addressing him as Lord Marquis, but only addressing him as a relative, Xie Yi felt that he had done another favor for his mother. He couldn't help but straighten his chest slightly and glanced at Mother Xie. After the latter nodded, he took the Jade Dragonfly with both hands: "Thank you, cousin!"

Seeing this, Xie's mother was also very happy. She took her grandson in her arms and asked, "Why did you finish school so early today?"

Xie Yi thought for a moment and replied, "Mrs. Shen's grandson brought the second young mistress of the Shen's mansion to the palace to plead guilty."

The current Duke of Shen was a very old man. He outlived his wife and eldest son, but he was still practicing Taoism and seeking immortality. He often lived in a Taoist temple outside the capital. All affairs in the Duke's Mansion were handed over to the eldest grandson and his wife to manage.

"The husband of the Second Young Master's wife was the one who accidentally knocked over the oil lamp and burned the library while on duty." Xie Yi continued, "She is actually a cousin of Empress Chen. Empress Chen found out that it was because she woke up from a dream at night and was haunted by the dream, so she chased the Second Young Master of the Duke of Shen's mansion and beat him up for a whole night, causing the Second Young Master to lose his energy while on duty and causing trouble. So she summoned both of them to the palace to be punished."

"What does that have to do with you kids?" Xie's mother was very confused.

Over the years, Chen Guipin was appointed as the director of the Shanggong Bureau by Xie Yuzhen, but she has been behaving herself well and has never overstepped the boundaries. She has not bribed palace servants like Concubine Deng and arranged anything in secret. The only problem may be that she has always only done her own job, and when the time is up, she refuses to continue to work no matter what, unless it is a matter of life and death, she will not care.

"The second young master's wife's nephew Chen Cheng and the eldest son of the great grandson Tao Tao also studied in Linzhi Hall. One of them said that the great grandson's wife bullied his aunt, and the other said that the second young master's wife caused trouble and implicated his mother. They quarreled and then fought." Xie Yi shrugged. "The two of them had formed gangs in Linzhi Hall and disliked each other for a long time. The fight turned into a fight between the two sides... Later, the teachers were alarmed, and they were punished. Those of us who did not participate were asked to leave school early."

"Ah, this..." Xie's mother really couldn't say how to comment.

Lin Qiao, who had been listening for a while, said thoughtfully: "Not long after I entered the capital, I heard people say that the health of the grandson seemed not to be very good. He only had a concubine's son, who was raised by the grandson's wife. However, the wife of the second room of the Duke of Shen's mansion gave birth to a legitimate son..."

The inheritance of the title of the Great Sheng Dynasty focused on the eldest son, and also looked at the weight of the family with the title in the heart of the emperor... If the grandson of the emperor died suddenly, there was a chance that his title would be passed on to the illegitimate son, but if the emperor did not show mercy, the inheritance of the title would be very likely to be reduced; but at the same time, if the grandson of the emperor had a mother and a younger brother, it was also very likely that he would inherit the title, because this would not be a downward inheritance, but a replacement of an heir among the same generation, so there would be no need to reduce the title, and it would be easy to operate, as long as Duke Shen was willing to operate for him...

"It seems that the relationship between the first and second wives of Duke Shen's Mansion is not very harmonious."

"Cousin, what you mean is that the events in the Duke of Shen's Mansion these days may involve a dispute between the Crown Prince and the Second Young Master over the title?"

Lin Qiao nodded: "It's just my guess, and I always feel that the Second Young Master's wife seems to have an indescribable strangeness..."

Although Chen Guipin's family was not prominent, it was also a very influential family among the clean officials. It was a scholarly era, and except for the second young master's wife, no one else married into a noble family.

"I know something about this. The marriage of the Second Young Master and his wife was a grand affair!" Mother Xie finally realized that the topic of the conversation had reached an area she had been involved in before, and she said excitedly, "Back then, the Second Young Master's wife would not marry anyone but you. In order to marry the Second Young Master, she knelt on the way to the government office for three days without sleep... Later, the Empress couldn't stand it anymore, so she summoned Madam Chen to the palace for a talk, and only then did the Second Young Master's wife get her wish and marry into the Duke's Mansion with a red doll."

This matter was not only spread in the capital, but also in other places, especially among scholars. It was widely spread and even derived into many dramas. Lin Qiao naturally knew about it: "So, she and the second young master have been so loving for so many years, and suddenly there was news of marital discord, and even the second young master lost his job because of it. It's really strange."