The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Chapter 326 The Emperor’s Thoughts

After walking for a while, Xie Run felt a little tired, so he found a pavilion near the water to sit down and rest.

She fanned the water in the pool and whispered, "Did you hear the Queen scolding Hua Xiuyuan today?"

Lady Lu thought about it and couldn't help laughing out loud, feeling a little envious.

"I'm afraid Hua Xiuyuan didn't hear a word. She just said she has a good brother who is valued by the emperor, and she is favored as well."

Being favored is not just about whether the emperor sleeps with you.

For someone like Hua Yu, even if she didn't sleep with the emperor, the emperor would go to her yard from time to time to sit for her, which was considered favored.

After all, the emperor will go to see you even if he doesn't sleep. Isn't it because he is thinking about you?

Xie Run played with the water and said softly, "I heard another meaning in the Queen's words."

Lady Lu looked at Xie Run curiously.

Xie Run: "After some time, Hua Xiuyuan will probably be promoted to the position of concubine."

Lady Lu was surprised. "Really?"

She thought carefully about what the queen said, but she really didn't hear this other meaning in her words.

Xie Run analyzed her words to Lu Meiren.

"The Queen has always known the Emperor's intentions. She asked Hua Xiuyuan to learn how to manage Fanghua Palace. I'm afraid she has heard the news and Hua Xiuyuan will soon become the true master of Fanghua Palace."

Concubine Lu was surprised and puzzled: "But... unless Hua Xiuyuan is pregnant or has made great contributions, the emperor can't directly promote her from Xiuyuan to the second-rank concubine, right?"

It might have been possible during the time of the retired emperor, but the current emperor is a very principled man and rarely makes exceptions for anyone.

If an exception is made once, it will really alarm the six palaces.

Xie Run smiled and said, "That will depend on how the Emperor treats Hua Xiuyuan in the future."

In fact, Xie Run had a vague idea in his mind.

The plot of this life is so different from that in the original script that many things no longer match.

In the original script, the retired emperor died, and the emperor ascended the throne after defeating several brothers. At that time, the throne was not as stable as it is now.

After the emperor ascended the throne, the neighboring Xia Dynasty began to prepare for war, hoping to take the opportunity to tear a piece of meat from the Yu Dynasty.

In the first year of the emperor's accession to the throne, the Xia and Yu dynasties fought at least fifty wars of varying sizes.

Although the emperor won in the end, the continuous wars also drained the treasury of the Yu Dynasty, causing great damage to the vitality of the Yu Dynasty. It took several years of hard work to restore the prosperity before he ascended the throne.

In this life, perhaps because the retired emperor was still alive, the emperor ascended the throne smoothly and the Xia Dynasty did not show any wolfish ambitions.

But the fact that the Xia Dynasty did not move did not mean that the emperor did not want to move.

The most important thing for a new emperor to do when he ascends the throne is to achieve some results to consolidate his position and power.

The quickest and most obvious thing is a victory.

Xie Run realized this when the emperor asked Hua Yu's brother, General Hua, to temporarily serve as the governor of Yunzhou.

Everyone thought that the emperor was partial to General Hua and deliberately took away the position of Yunzhou Governor and gave it to General Hua.

In fact, the emperor asked General Hua to take charge of Yunzhou because he wanted to take action against the Xia Dynasty.

Lady Lu didn't think as much as Xie Run did, so she only said perceptively, "Sister Xie, do you want me to find out something?"

Xie Run nodded slightly: "There is a lot of news in the harem, and I can't tell the truth from the false. If you can get accurate information, it would be a good thing."

Lady Lu smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, Sister Xie. I may not be able to do other things, but I am good at getting information."

In the blink of an eye, it was the Queen Mother's birthday.

Xie Run got up early this morning, not only to dress himself up, but also to dress up Taotao.

The senior palace maids in Showa Palace were busy as hell.

Xie Run dressed Taotao in a red dress with an exquisite little tiger embroidered on it, which looked domineering and a little silly.

This was Xie Runti's suggestion. Lady Lu drew the pattern and finally asked the embroidery room to make it.

He had a necklace around his neck that weighed several kilograms and was inlaid with several large rubies and sapphires.

The two little fat boys wore two gold bracelets on each of their hands.

Sitting there, the lucky dolls painted all year round look extremely joyful.

Xie Run also dressed up carefully, adding some bright colors to her look, so as not to tarnish her reputation as a favorite concubine.

As the Queen Mother taught.

After all, she was the only first-rank concubine in the emperor's harem. She dressed so poorly that people who didn't know her would think the emperor was treating her harshly.

There are envoys from the Xia Dynasty here today, so Xie Run has to dress more formally.

When Xie Run arrived at the Cining Palace, he found that the other concubines had also tacitly taken out their best jewelry to dress themselves up.

Even Hui Xiuyi, who always dressed in a cool style and loved to wear white jade jewelry, changed her style and put on a goose yellow coat, two blood-like ruby earrings on the tips of her ears, combed her hair into a snake bun, and used matching gold and jade jewelry, which made her look noble and otherworldly.

Xie Run has always admired the dressing skills of the women in the harem.

As soon as she arrived, the other concubines had to pay their respects to her.

Xie Run took a quick look and found that almost everyone was there, except for the emperor, empress and queen mother.

There were many unfamiliar faces sitting at the tables opposite, both men and women, and their clothes were different from Yu Chao's.

It goes without saying that they are from the Xia Dynasty.

Taotao rarely comes to such occasions.

He is a bit of a crowd-pleaser and not at all shy. On the contrary, the more people there are, the happier he is.

As soon as he sat down, he twisted his body to get up and walk away, his hands still grabbing at the table, trying to grab some new and interesting thing on the table that he had never seen before.

Neither Aunt Xu nor Zihu could hold him down.

Xie Run took a look and said with a helpless smile: "Forget it, don't detain him, let him come down and take a walk."

As he spoke, he took a piece of cake that he had prepared in advance and stuffed it into his hand.

After getting the cakes to eat, Taotao behaved much better.

Xie Run was wiping Taotao's mouth when he vaguely caught a glimpse of a figure hurrying towards him from below.