The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

The palace maids in front of the emperor brought up a yellow silk brocade box that was almost as tall as a person.

The box itself is worth a lot of money.

It is carved from a single piece of extremely rare South China Sea agarwood.

It is inlaid with tortoise shell jewels and painted with gold and phoenixes.

Two palace servants placed the box flat and held it in their hands. Another chief eunuch under the chief eunuch Cao Bin, smiled and carefully knelt on the ground and opened the brocade box.

The moment the lid of the box is opened.

The jewels and precious stones glittered brightly, dazzling the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"Your Highness, this is a cloud-patterned Lingbao Ruyi, crafted from the finest ancient rhinoceros horn and ancient ivory. It's inlaid with eight precious gems: jadeite, mutton-fat jade, crystal, agate, coral, red gold, colored glaze, and giant clam. These are all carefully selected treasures from the tribute.

His Majesty had ordered the Imperial Household Department's Workshop to look for precious materials a year ago. After finding the materials, he selected craftsmen. It took eighteen skilled craftsmen half a year to carve such a Ruyi.

The bats, longevity peaches, and Penglai Fairy Island above are so lifelike. Look at them, old man! These are His Majesty's heartfelt wishes for a long and blessed life!"

The eunuch is very good at talking.

This immediately caused waves of admiration in the hall.

Some praised the craftsmanship, some praised the material, some praised the craftsmanship, and of course the most praised the emperor's filial piety.

The hall was buzzing with activity.

The Queen Mother looked at the huge Ruyi, but she was not very happy.

His expression was calm and he just nodded slightly.

He had just praised the "Emperor for his thoughtfulness", but now he didn't say a word.

At the concubines' banquet, many concubines were amazed, especially the younger concubines of lower status who had never seen many good things. They were immediately attracted by the extremely luxurious Ruyi and stared at it intently.

Qiu Changzai was sitting behind Wu Xiangrong.

I asked quietly, "Sister Wu, what can you do with such a big Ruyi?"

Wu Xiangrong tilted her head slightly and whispered to her, "It's useless. Just leave it there and watch."

"Put it in Ciyun Palace?"

It must take up quite a bit of space.

Wu Xiangrong covered the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "The Queen Mother doesn't want it, so I'm afraid she won't do it!"

Concubine Qiu still didn't understand and continued to say, "A ruyi is best used as a pillow. If this ruyi were made a little smaller, the Empress Dowager might be able to place it in her bedroom."

Wu Xiangrong chuckled.

"You also believe it can provide a comfortable pillow? Sister will teach you, listen, this thing is not that noble, it is originally just a tickler."

Qiu Changzai was slightly stunned.

When Zhishu went to Changle Palace, Wu Xiangrong had been staring at the situation in Xianyue Palace nervously. She was tense for a long time. Now that the matter had come to an end, she relaxed a little.

Happy to chat with people.

He leaned closer and whispered to Qiu Changzai:

"This thing has existed since ancient times. I heard it's even mentioned in books. It's a curved thing with a head, and people used it to scratch their backs. It's nicknamed 'Bu Qiu Ren' (not asking for help). I guess people back then didn't bathe often, so they were always itchy and needed to scratch constantly."

I heard that later, scholars and scholars used it to discuss academic matters. Besides scratching their backs at any time, they could also write on it as a note. The hu tablet that officials use when attending court today evolved from this thing.

Its use as a scratching device evolved into the Ruyi (Ruyi). People placed it next to their pillows in their bedrooms, ready to scratch any itch. Over time, it became known as the "An pillow." "What kind of pillow is this? It's just a way to scratch an itch, and it'll be soothed!"

Qiu Changzai was stunned by what he heard.

"...Sister is really knowledgeable."

Wu Xiangrong was proud: "I don't claim to be knowledgeable, but I know a little bit about various things."

"Then... Your Majesty gave the Queen Mother such a big tickler..."

"Well, it's not that vulgar. Since the dynasties before the Daliang Dynasty, Ruyi has become more and more luxurious. Made of pearls and jade, the ability to tickle an itch is secondary, the main thing is to look good. Our Taizu really liked to reward court officials with Ruyi. After all, who cares whether it tickles an itch or not? It's just a precious gift."

Qiu Changzai nodded suddenly.

It turned out to be the case.

During the short period when she was in favor, she was also given a small jade ruyi by His Majesty.

It is still carefully kept in the cabinet.

"But why doesn't the Queen Mother like it?" Concubine Qiu was still puzzled.

Even if Wu Xiangrong didn't tell her, she could see that the Queen Mother really didn't care much for this thing.

"Oh, this..." Wu Xiangrong pressed the powder on her cheeks with a handkerchief and decided not to tell the truth. "Maybe it's too luxurious?"

It was at this moment that the Queen Mother spoke.

He publicly blamed the emperor for not being frugal.

So many pearls and gems were spent on making such a flashy thing.

"There are natural disasters everywhere, and the war is still going on. Looking at Ruyi, I feel really sad."

Qiu Changzai believed it.

Wu Xiangrong sat up straight and lowered his eyes secretly.

She wasn't as smart as her younger sister Zhao or Ying, but she wasn't stupid either. Especially after following the emperor for so many years, how could she not know what he most feared?

The emperor hates being suppressed by force the most!

The Queen Mother caused Your Majesty a lot of trouble in the palace today.

Judging from the situation, this contradiction has probably been going on for more than a day or two.

Then there's something fishy about His Majesty sending such a gift...

The Ruyi Anzhen pillow means that the empress dowager can have a good sleep and rest, and not meddle in other people's affairs.

The purpose of scratching an itch is for the Queen Mother to scratch herself when she is free, without asking for help from others or disturbing others.

Making it so luxurious perhaps means that as long as you live out your life in peace and quiet, I will ensure that you will have a prosperous and worry-free later life?

Wu Xiangrong secretly pondered and guessed.

I thought that when I meet Feiwan and Zhishu, I will ask them to tell me whether my guess is correct.

"My lady, something has happened in Changle Palace. The virtuous concubine is safe for now, but my lady Ying has just been demoted to a commoner by the empress dowager and banished to the cold palace."

The maid Jin Chan received the latest news from outside and whispered quietly.

Wu Xiangrong shuddered.

He looked at the Queen Mother in the main seat in disbelief.

What does the old lady want to do?

Don’t you think that today’s irritation to His Majesty is not enough?

The emperor said that for the empress dowager's fiftieth birthday, the birthday gift must be a collection of all the treasures in the world, no matter how luxurious it is.

The Queen Mother disagreed.

It was decided in public that the huge Ruyi should be dismantled and sold, and the gold and silver exchanged for it should be sent to Jiangnan for disaster relief.

Zhongqingbo immediately followed suit and donated 800 taels of silver to Jiangnan.

One after another, court officials and ladies stood up and joined in donating money and supplies.

Before long, tens of thousands of taels of silver were collected for disaster relief.

Although this money is a drop in the bucket for disaster relief.

But the amount is not small. If it gets out that the Queen Mother didn't accept gifts at her birthday banquet, but instead led the officials to collect tens of thousands of silver coins for disaster relief...

What a virtuous person!

"The Queen Mother's compassion for the people is a blessing to the country. I thank the Queen Mother on behalf of all the people in the world!"

The emperor did not object from beginning to end, and finally approved with a smile.

Wu Xiangrong looked at the emperor, but felt a chill on her back.

She shrank back and focused on eating.

I decided to stay put until the birthday party was over.

"Your Majesty, I also have a gift to offer to the Queen Mother."

During the banquet, Concubine Qing stood up.