Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 841 Mother’s Grace to the World
After listening to Zhu Shenzhui's explanation, Xu Jingqiu finally understood her husband's concerns, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Your Majesty is really worrying too much. They are just a few women. There are concubines in the harem. As long as Your Majesty remains true to his original intention, how can you still worry about these weak women?"

Compared to Xu Jingqiu's calmness and confidence, Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and said, "You have just arrived in Beijing. Many things are not as simple as you think. The harem is not small, but it is not big either. However, it is full of dangers. You need to be more careful. Why do you think that the eunuchs, maids, and guards I arranged in your palace are all carefully selected? This is also for safety considerations."

Since Xu Jingqiu and the children arrived in the capital, Zhu Shenzhu personally arranged the people around them and carefully selected them. The eunuchs who served as scouts were all checked by the Imperial Household Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be sure that there was no problem. The people used were honest, reliable, and had real personalities. As for the guards, they were all Mongolian guards, just like those around Zhu Shenzhu. The ordinary imperial guards were only responsible for the outer perimeter and could not get close to them at all. The palace maids who served them, like the eunuchs, knew everything about them, and even so, they had to follow the rules on weekdays. Once they found that they violated the rules, Zhu Shenzhu would never let them off easily.

After hearing Zhu Shenzhui's explanation, Xu Jingqiu showed a puzzled expression. In her opinion, this was also the reason why she was a little confused.

The imperial palace was heavily guarded. Was it necessary to be so cautious? But Zhu Shenzhui did just that. It was really puzzling.

Seeing her expression, Zhu Shenzhui sighed inwardly and asked, "As the queen, you have lived in the palace for some time now, and you know a thing or two about the affairs of the harem. Let me ask you, besides the family of the abdicated emperor, who else is respected in the harem?"

Xu Jingqiu thought for a moment and replied, "Of course, apart from Concubine Li, the late Empress Yi'an is the most respected."

"Have you seen these two people?"

"I have met Concubine Li twice, and Empress Yi'an has only met her once."

"What do you think of Concubine Li and Empress Yi'an?" Zhu Shenzhu continued to ask.

Xu Jingqiu said, "Li Taifei is getting old. She was not well-received because of the palace relocation case and lived in the deep palace for a long time. It was not until your majesty became the regent that she was promoted to Taifei and moved to Renshou Palace for retirement. Taifei is very grateful to your majesty. Perhaps for this reason, she was very kind when she saw me. I even felt that... Taifei was trying to please me on purpose."

Xu Jingqiu's feeling was correct. Concubine Li did have a very special attitude towards Xu Jingqiu as the Queen. Not only did she not put on airs, she also tried to please her, even to the point of treating the Queen as her superior.

Speaking of which, Concubine Li was an elder in the harem. After all, she was the concubine of Emperor Taichang, and she almost sat on the throne of Empress of Emperor Taichang.

If Emperor Taichang had not died too early after ascending the throne, Concubine Li would have become the empress long ago. Once she became the empress, she would be the master of the six palaces. Even if Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne later, Concubine Li would still be the empress dowager, and in terms of status and identity, she would be even higher than the empress.

Unfortunately, Emperor Taichang died too early, and before she could be officially canonized, Concubine Li died from taking a red pill. After Emperor Taichang's death, Concubine Li's dream of becoming queen was completely shattered. In order to get the status of empress dowager, Concubine Li could only grasp the last straw, that was the young Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao, and used him as a bargaining chip to bargain with the ministers, demanding that her status as empress dowager be confirmed before the new emperor ascended the throne.

Unfortunately, although Li Taifei's plan was good, she had no help from inside or outside, and only Li Jinzhong (Wei Zhongxian), who had not yet made a name for himself, was of no help at all. In addition, because Wang An, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, and Luo Sigong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, secretly defected to the Donglin Party, it led to a complete failure. Under the pressure of Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others, the horrific case of moving the palace finally occurred. Zhu Youxiao, who had not yet ascended the throne, was directly snatched away by Yang Lian in the Qianqing Palace. Li Taifei lost her last bargaining chip and was forced to be driven out of the Qianqing Palace.

In this way, Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne in an unprecedented way under the coercion of the Donglin Party and became the Tianqi Emperor.

After he officially became the emperor, the Donglin Party wanted to kill Concubine Li in the name of Emperor Tianqi. If Emperor Tianqi had not refused to agree, Concubine Li might have been killed by the Donglin Party at that time. Later, in order to prevent Concubine Li from being harmed by the Donglin Party, Emperor Tianqi had no choice but to agree to some unreasonable demands of the Donglin Party, and then found a non-reason to place Concubine Li in the cold palace.

Later, as Emperor Tianqi gradually gained power and used Wei Zhongxian to control the government, he could not wait to take action against the Donglin Party. At the same time, he did not forget Concubine Li. He issued an order to release Concubine Li from the cold palace, and canonized her as Concubine Li Kang, and then moved her to another palace for support.

If Emperor Tianqi had died a few years later, after he had completely solved the problem of the Donglin Party, he might have further conferred the title of empress dowager or at least a concubine dowager on Concubine Li Kang.

Unfortunately, Emperor Tianqi did not live long. Just before he was about to completely eradicate the Donglin Party, he fell into the water and died of illness. After his death, with the rise of Emperor Chongzhen, all the plans that Emperor Tianqi had spent several years carefully planning against the Donglin Party came to nothing, and his most capable vicious dog Wei Zhongxian was also killed by the young Emperor Chongzhen. After the death of Emperor Tianqi, Li Kangfei in the harem became a character that no one cared about after just a few days of good life. Emperor Chongzhen was not Emperor Tianqi. Although they were brothers, Emperor Chongzhen was not from the same mother as Emperor Tianqi. Although the two had feelings, the feelings were not too deep.

If Emperor Tianqi had not left any offspring, there would be no way that the throne would have passed to Emperor Chongzhen. In addition, Emperor Tianqi was raised by Concubine Dowager Li, who was his adoptive mother, but Emperor Chongzhen was not.

To Emperor Chongzhen, Concubine Li was just a stranger. Moreover, the Donglin Party had made a comeback at that time. According to the Donglin Party, Concubine Li was not a good person at all. Influenced by the Donglin Party, Emperor Chongzhen certainly would not like Concubine Li. However, he did not do anything to this woman. Since the previous emperor had given her the title of Concubine Kang, he just kept her in the harem. However, her treatment plummeted. Although she was not sent to the cold palace again, it was not a good thing either.

It was not until Zhu Shenzhui entered the capital that he remembered Concubine Li who had been forgotten by everyone for a long time. Zhu Shenzhui found an excuse of the late emperor's last words and made a political exchange with Concubine Li in private. In this way, she suddenly became the current Concubine Li. After she was promoted to Concubine Li, she agreed to Zhu Shenzhui's regent with the Concubine Li's imperial decree. The two formed a tacit understanding, which gave Zhu Shenzhui a legal reason to control the government.

From this point of view, Zhu Shenzhu and Li Taifei just got what they needed. It is nonsense to say that Zhu Shenzhu had any feelings for this woman. He had never even met Li Taifei before, let alone had any friendship with her. Their tacit understanding was a pure political exchange, without any other mixture.

Moreover, Concubine Li was a very sensible person. Perhaps because of her many experiences, she was no longer the spoiled Concubine Li. She knew very well who she could rely on and what she needed. With her family background, she was able to get to this point entirely because of Zhu Shencui. Without Zhu Shencui, she would never have become a Concubine, let alone her current status and position.

It is for this reason that Li Taifei's attitude towards Xu Jingqiu is naturally different. How could she use her elder status to suppress Xu Jingqiu? Seeing Xu Jingqiu, she was too busy to please him, not to mention other things. Moreover, although Zhu Shenzhu's throne was abdicated by Emperor Chongzhen, and Emperor Chongzhen's throne came from Emperor Tianqi's brother-to-brother succession, and then from Emperor Taichang, as Emperor Taichang's concubine, Li Taifei has the highest seniority in the harem. But from the perspective of the royal family, don't forget that Zhu Shenzhu is of the same generation as Emperor Wanli, and is also the uncle of Emperor Taichang. This means that Queen Xu Jingqiu is a generation higher than Li Taifei in the royal family.

There were some things that Zhu Shenzhui had never said to Xu Jingqiu before, and Xu Jingqiu had not been in the capital in recent years. Naturally, she didn't know these things as she was far away in Yangtou Mountain in Shanxi.

Today, Zhu Shenzhui told her in detail about Concubine Li. After listening to Zhu Shenzhui's story, Xu Jingqiu suddenly realized the real reason why Concubine Li respected her so much and even tried to please her. She also felt a little sad for this poor woman.

"Empress Dowager Li was unlucky. She should have been the master of the six palaces, but ended up with a miserable ending. She has not had a good life in the harem these years. If it weren't for me, perhaps her life would have been like that, and she would not have been promoted to the status of Empress Dowager."

"She is a smart and understanding person, and she has long lost her former pride after years of trials and tribulations. She has been in the palace for decades and knows more about the affairs of the harem than others. Moreover, she is able to have such a status now because of me. Without me, she would not be able to become a concubine."

"You are a new queen. If you have any questions about the harem, you can go to Renshou Palace more often and get close to her. You can ask her privately about some things. She will definitely help you with all her strength. In addition, the Cining Palace where my sister-in-law lives is not far from Renshou Palace. She can help take care of it on weekdays, so I can rest assured."

Xu Jingqiu understood what Zhu Shencui meant. No wonder he deliberately placed Concubine Li in Renshou Palace and Zhang in Cining Palace. Perhaps Zhu Shencui had already thought of this when he helped Concubine Li become Concubine, otherwise he would not have placed her in such an early position.

After learning about her husband's arrangements, Xu Jingqiu immediately nodded to show that she understood. She would go to Renshou Palace frequently and ask Concubine Li for advice on harem affairs in private. With Concubine Li's assistance, it would be much easier for her to manage the harem.

"What about Empress Yi'an? Should she visit her more often as well?" Xu Jingqiu thought of Empress Zhang and couldn't help but ask.

As soon as he asked this, Zhu Shenzui's expression became a little subtle. He asked Xu Jingqiu what her impression of Empress Zhang was. Xu Jingqiu didn't think much about it. She said that Empress Zhang was extremely beautiful and a rare beauty. Moreover, after getting to know her, she felt that Empress Zhang had a gentle personality, dignified manners, and generous behavior, which gave her a good impression.

"You need to be careful with Zhang Yan. This woman is not simple. If you can avoid seeing her on weekdays, then do not see her. Just treat her with respect. Don't be fooled by her appearance." Zhu Shenzhui smiled bitterly and said to Xu Jingqiu in a low voice.

Xu Jingqiu was stunned for a moment, and she didn't understand why Zhu Shenzhu said that. In her impression, Empress Zhang gave her a better impression than Concubine Li, but Zhu Shenzhu asked her to spend more time with Concubine Li, but opposed her getting close to Empress Zhang. Why? Xu Jingqiu was puzzled for a while.

(End of this chapter)