The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

In the past two years, Concubine Chen Hui had lived a relatively comfortable life. When she learned the reason why Xie Yuzhen asked Xia Zhi to invite her to Shouning Palace, she spoke frankly, "Your Majesty, I am not familiar with this Madam Chu who married into the He family. We just have a little friendship. However...the He family has three branches and seven sons. She married the only promising eldest son. Your Majesty should know what the remaining uncles are like."

The eldest grandson of the He family is Commander He. His younger brothers, from the second to the fifth, are typical playboys. Many years ago, they failed to plot against Jun Yuexin, and instead were treated as bandits, had their hands and feet broken, and were stripped naked and paraded through the streets.

The remaining sixth brother is frail and sickly and has no reputation outside. The seventh brother is a good boy, but a little mediocre. He married Ruan Xiang'e not long ago, and he did not accept the fact that his wife looked down on him and had other concerns in her heart very well. He just listened to his grandfather and maintained a superficial relationship with Ruan Xiang'e.

Xie Yu knew the He family's situation very well. She called Concubine Chen Hui over just to find out about Madam Chu's temperament and see if she could use some tricks on her. If she could, it would be best to summon Concubine Chen Hui, an old acquaintance of Madam Chu, to the palace to plan for her future affairs.

Although Concubine Chen Hui bluntly stated that she was not familiar with Madam Chu, in Xie Ruizhen's eyes, it seemed that Concubine Chen Hui was unwilling to get involved in matters outside the Shanggong Bureau because she found it troublesome. It was precisely because of her attitude of never completely standing on his side that Xie Ruizhen had never been able to entrust most of his trust to her.

"You haven't seen your family for a long time." Xie Yuzhen put on a smiling face, ignoring Concubine Chen Hui's silent resistance to working overtime. "Since we are old acquaintances, it's okay to invite her to the palace to chat. I just heard not long ago that Madam Dong from the Anguo Marquis's Mansion and Madam He who married into the Yao family held a banquet together. Everyone in the He Mansion received the invitation, but... Madam Chu, the eldest niece's wife, was not invited."

"Mrs. Chu's family is just like yours, Concubine Hui, both of them are far away in Qingzhou. When I heard about this, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that Mrs. Chu was really pitiful. She traveled thousands of miles to marry in the capital, but she had to marry such an unreliable aunt. Even after giving birth to two children, she was still treated so poorly and excluded."

She acted sad and compassionate, like a loving mother Bodhisattva behind a thin smoke screen, and spoke in a gentle and touching voice: "General He is an old minister that Your Majesty values. He has worked hard and made great contributions. If we just ignore the conflicts between his several families, I am afraid that he will not be able to enjoy his old age. As the head of the ladies inside and outside the palace, I really have to mediate between them. Wangyunlou, you can also help me."

After so much talk, things had come to this point. Concubine Chen Hui knew that she could not refuse this time. She was still wondering what Empress Xie wanted to do through these women in the inner palace, but this thought only flashed through her mind before she completely put it aside.

Even though the Chen family has many in-laws, they are not that powerful in terms of influence. They are not even as powerful as the noble families that have emerged in recent generations of emperors. The reason why this family has survived for so long is that they have adhered to the ancestral precepts of being loyal to the emperor, doing good, not being too greedy for power, and being prudent and protecting themselves.

In Chen Huifei's view, since her family members were loyal to the emperor in the previous dynasty, she should be a minister assisting the empress in the harem. However, when she experienced the loss of her son and fell out of favor, she was still too young. She was immersed in the pain of losing her son and completely forgot her past upbringing.

Now that she has avenged herself and put an end to her regrets, it is time for her to follow in the footsteps of her predecessors and do what is appropriate for her status.

but.

It is impossible to work overtime unless it is absolutely necessary.

Concubine Chen Hui silently chanted a Buddhist name in her heart, nodded respectfully and said, "I understand. It just so happens that my servant Xianchan has just got a litter of cicadas. Why don't we invite the ladies to the palace and hold a cat-viewing banquet? It will also help to find a good place for those little guys."

"When did you get a cat?" Xie Yu had never heard that Concubine Chen Hui had a cat in her palace. After all, the former Concubine Liu, now Concubine Liu, was living with Concubine Chen Hui with the Sixth Prince.

Concubine Chen Hui bent her knees slightly towards Xie Yuzhen and said, "Go to the cat and dog room this afternoon and pick out a litter."

Inexplicably, Xie Yuzhen suddenly felt a little like the headache that Queen Wang had when she was still around. She waved her hand and said, "Go ahead, don't show off in front of me."

Concubine Chen Hui also smiled: "I do sincerely want to raise a few cats, but Bao'er (the Sixth Prince) is still too young. Concubine Liu and I dare not let him get close to cats and dogs. But when he grows up, we can move him to Chonghua Palace."

After she hinted to Xie Yuzhen that neither she nor Concubine Liu had been holding the throne, she stood up again and prepared to leave.

In fact, Xie Yuzhen was not too afraid of Lu Weiyuan's brothers.

The eldest prince, Prince Kang, was frail, had lost his mother, and had a younger brother who was equally frail. The emperor had never considered the possibility of the two brothers succeeding to the throne. Moreover, as they grew older, the brothers' health deteriorated, showing a short life that everyone knew. Even the most daring speculators did not dare to easily bet on the eldest son.

The second prince, Prince Xin's mother's family, was temporarily quiet. More importantly, he himself was not very favored by the emperor. Although he was the only one in good health among the older princes, Xie Yuzhen knew very well that the emperor had never thought of using him as a crown prince. However, if anyone intended to gain the credit of following the emperor from Prince Xin, Xie Yuzhen had already prepared a somewhat sinister means for them.

As for the rest, the third prince is also a sickly person, the fourth prince and the fifth prince died young, and the sixth prince is still a baby. Moreover, his biological mother, Concubine Liu, is just an ordinary Jiangnan woman. In terms of maternal family, it can be said that her family is only slightly better than that of Prince Kang and the third prince.

The only thing Xie Yuzhen needs to be wary of is the power that will naturally gather around the Sixth Prince when he grows up because of his status as a prince. Rather than waiting to have a headache about this in the future, Xie Yuzhen would rather take action to destroy the Sixth Prince while he is still young.

But the problem is that if she does it too blatantly, she will immediately face a lot of trouble as the queen involved in politics.

If Concubine Liu, the biological mother, and her main wife, Concubine Chen Hui, are really willing to let the Sixth Prince be just a Prince Anle from now on, it will undoubtedly be good news for Xie Yuzhen, who currently has to spend all his energy on consolidating his power and paving the way for his daughter to ascend the throne in the future.

But we can't just trust Concubine Chen Hui just because of a few words. Xie Yuzhen looked at her and smiled, "If you are too busy preparing the banquet, why not ask Concubine Xu to take Xiaoliu over to take care of him for a few days, so that you and Concubine Liu can relax and unwind."

Concubine Chen Hui was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but complain in her heart that it was no wonder that Empress Xie could become a couple with the man on the dragon throne. However, before coming here, she had already discussed the possible scenarios with Concubine Liu, so she was not surprised by Xie Yuzhen's test. She just kept a docile look and nodded, saying, "Then I'll trouble you for a while."