Xiyuan is located on the west side of the Forbidden City. There are three seas in it, namely the South Sea, Zhonghai and Beihai.
There is also Yingtai, which faces the water on all sides and is composed of pavilions, pavilions, rockery and corridors. It is full of flowers, plants and trees, with towering palaces and pavilions, and the water and sky are the same color.
Generally, when emperors bring their concubines to Xiyuan to escape the summer heat, most of them live around the South China Sea. It was the same this time, the imperial concubine Li lived in Yingtai, Empress Chen lived in Qingyin Pavilion, and the others lived scattered in Wanshan Hall, Shuiyun Pavilion and other places.
When Feng Sheng arrived with his people, Imperial Concubine Li Huang had already prepared everything. Feng Sheng was arranged to live in Baoyue Tower, which is not far from Yingtai, and is near the water, with beautiful and pleasant scenery.
This time Feng Sheng brought both children, and the Sixteenth Prince also came, and he lived in Haiyan Hall not far from here.
Shiliu and Brother Ping had a good time, and not long after Brother Ping arrived, someone called Brother Ping away. Brother Yu didn't take Brother Xuan with him when he left, this kid cried so badly, and made Feng Sheng cry so hard that he couldn't get better after coaxing him several times, he was still howling when Concubine Li came.
"Grandmother." Brother Xuan rushed into the arms of Imperial Concubine Li with tears in his eyes.
"What's the matter? Why are you crying like this?"
Feng Sheng was helpless.
Well, this time Feng Sheng doesn't need to say anything, Concubine Li Huang will know what's going on.
"This is your Sixteenth Uncle and Brother Ping, and they didn't take you to play?"
Brother Xuan nodded repeatedly.
Feng Sheng said: "He is so young, he can't play with Shiliu Er, and he started to make a fuss when he saw Brother Ping leaving. Concubine Mu, please ignore him, I didn't see him crying even more vigorously when he saw you coming Yes, this is a complaint."
Concubine Li couldn't laugh or cry and said: "Why is this called a criminal complaint? It's also because of brother and Uncle Sixteen's fault that they didn't take my brother Xuan with them."
Don't look at Brother Xuan still crying, but in fact his two little ears have been listening. When he heard his grandmother say that the elder brother and the sixteenth uncle were not good, he nodded again and again, saying that they would not take him to play.
"Okay, okay, wait for the emperor's grandmother to come back and punish them. Brother Xuan, don't cry. I'll let someone take you to see the fish. There is a pond next to it, and there are a lot of fish in it." The imperial concubine turned her head and told Qianru, Ask her to bring a few more eunuchs, and take Brother Xuan to see the fish in person, so Brother Xuan stopped crying and followed obediently.
"Mother Concubine, you still have a solution. I can't do anything with this kid. I didn't see him crying so much when he was his age before." Feng Sheng helped Concubine Lihuang go to Luohan who was facing the window. Sit on the bed.
Although this Xiyuan is rarely lived in, it is repaired every year, and the palaces and pavilions are quite new. On weekdays, this Baoyue building is arranged for empresses and concubines to live in, and the furniture and furnishings are all first-class. For example, the arhat bed where Feng Sheng and the two are sitting at this time is made of red sandalwood. built-in objects.
During the interval, Taozhi led the people to serve tea.
Concubine Li Huang said while drinking tea: "Isn't this still young? Yue'er loved to cry a lot when he was his age. After a while, it seems that she has grown up suddenly and turned into a little girl all of a sudden. My lord, not only is he sensible, but he also likes to control you and not let you do this or that."
Unexpectedly, King Wei would still have such a time, Feng Sheng especially loved to hear about King Wei's childhood, Imperial Concubine Li said, she was just listening.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while, and someone from Yingtai said that His Majesty is looking for the imperial concubine.
Concubine Lihuang was concerned about Feng Sheng's stomach again, and told her to order whatever she wanted to eat, don't hold back, and went to Yingtai to talk to her when she had time, and left in a hurry.
Without Brother Xuan, the room is finally quiet now. Feng Sheng ordered people to clean up the room before, and now they will continue to tidy up. When everything that needed to be resettled was settled, Feng Sheng was thinking about getting the two children back, when suddenly a burst of laughter came from outside.
"Mother, mother!"
The one who ran in the front was Brother Xuan, holding a small palm-sized fish in his hand, most of his body was wet, calling his mother and running inside. Taozhi couldn't be stopped by several obstacles.
Followed by Brother Ping and Xiao Shiliu.
The two of them were no better than Brother Xuan, their robes were tied around their waists, their trouser legs and cuffs were rolled up high, one was holding two fishing rods, and the other was carrying a wooden barrel.
"Mother, there are so many fish in this sea. They are fat and big. I sent someone to take them to the kitchen for disposal. Tonight we will have a whole fish feast." Brother Ping said enthusiastically as soon as he came in.
Feng Sheng scolded as much as he wanted, but swallowed it back immediately. Seeing a few children having fun, they could only shake their heads and ask people to take the things in their hands, and ask people to prepare hot water and clothes.
"Even if you guys are playing, you still have to take care of your body. If you catch a cold, go take a shower, change your clothes, and talk again."
This time Brother Xuan was more obedient, he didn't ask him to do this, and he obediently followed his brother to take a bath.
Afterwards, Feng Sheng heard the commotion in the East Chamber, probably because brother Xuan pestered his brother and uncle to wash together, and brother Huan and Shiliu quit. As for whether Brother Xuan succeeded in the end, we can see some clues from the way he tried to please Brother Xuan afterwards.
"Sister-in-law, please don't tell the concubine mother about this, or she will talk about me again." After taking a bath and changing clothes, the sixteenth prince, whose hair was still slightly wet, looked particularly immature, changed from his usual calm and calm look.
The children in the palace are all precocious, the sixteenth prince is ten years old, and the servant who usually picks up people and treats things like a slave doesn't look like a child at all, now he looks like a child.
Compared with Sixteen, Brother Ping is a little more immature, but he already has the posture of the prince of the royal family. Brother Ping is tall, he is two years younger than Shiliu, but he is a little bit taller than Shiliu, and he is also strong and strong, like a calf.
Feng Sheng didn't know much about the two of them in the study room, but she did know a little bit. These two children usually move their brains and mouths, and the other hands. They almost walk sideways in the study room. It's not that no one is unconvinced, but Those who were not convinced were subdued by the two.
After Feng Sheng heard about it before, she also wanted to take care of it, but was stopped by Concubine Li Huang.
Imperial Concubine Li gave some examples, and also said why no one brought this matter up to Emperor Jianping, or even if other princes knew about it, they didn't care about it. In fact, this is the survival mode of the children in the palace. It starts from the time they enter the study room. Survival of the fittest, and going to the study room is just the first hurdle.
After that, Feng Sheng understood that children will grow up, and there will be a day when they will escape from the wings of their parents.
But occasionally I still think of him when he was a child, and now that he has grown up so much, parents will inevitably feel stunned.
Feng Sheng sighed in his heart, took the cotton handkerchief from the servant girl's hand and wiped Brother Ping's hair.
After drying it all, use a comb to smooth it out, and then dip it in the water. In this weather, it will be dry in a short time.
Wipe Shiliu again, in fact, little Shiliu is more careful than brother Ping, because the eunuchs around him are afraid of being hit by the board, so they get it done right away, but I wiped it for Brother Ping, not Shiliu, Feng Sheng always felt Some favor one another.
This little uncle is about the same age as her son, Feng Sheng often treats Xiaoliu as a nephew.
While wiping Shiliu's hair, she said: "It's okay if you don't want me to tell my concubine, there is a lot of water in this Xiyuan, usually you and Brother Ping run around and play, and no one can control you. But you have to bring people with you when you walk in and out.”
After talking to Sixteen, Feng Sheng went to ask Brother Ping again.
Brother Ping was still a little unconvinced, and wanted to say something, but was pulled by Sixteen to agree.
"I'm not in charge of you. Now there are many people living in Xiyuan, and there are many slaves. You two are still young, and some things are beyond your capabilities. Don't wait until you suffer a loss to know your regrets."
"Sister-in-law, Brother Ping and I both understand what you said, and we will definitely take people with us when we walk in the future." Sixteen put his hands together to beg for mercy, quite cute.
Feng Sheng thought about it for a while, but was still a little worried: "If not, I'll have someone find a few good water masters to teach you how to swim. Anyway, it's hot and you like to play, so you can kill two birds with one stone."
Brother Jue's eyes lit up immediately, and Shiliu also seemed very interested.
"Sister-in-law, then it's decided."
Feng Sheng laughed: "Don't worry, I'll find someone for you, but you still have to take someone with you when you walk. Especially brother Ping, next time if mother finds that you have abandoned the guard, I will send you to Fujian to be with your father go."
Brother Yu is not afraid of heaven and earth, but the king of Wei.
It's also surprising that Brother Yu is not afraid to see Emperor Jianping, but he is afraid of his own father. A while ago, King Wei hadn't left the capital yet, and Brother Jue was very honest, like a mouse seeing a cat, but as soon as King Wei left, this boy became the king of the monkey without the tiger at home.
"I heard it, I heard it." Brother Ping said a little impatiently.
At this time Brother Xuan also came out of the shower, and when this kid appeared, the scene absolutely got out of control. But at this time, the dinner was ready. It was said to be a whole fish feast, but it was really a whole fish feast. The whole table was full of dishes related to fish.
Shiliu was also a filial person, he hadn't forgotten about Yingtai after eating, so he specially asked someone to pick two fat ones and send them over.
Imperial Concubine Li was very happy to catch the fish. The slave who came back said that Imperial Concubine had someone carry it to the dining room on the spot, saying that she had someone cook it to use with His Majesty at night.
Everyone was very happy to eat this whole fish feast, including Feng Sheng.
Originally, Ku Xia had no appetite and had morning sickness, but she didn't vomit after eating the fish, so that after the imperial concubine found out, she ordered someone to go to Haizi to catch fish every day to feed Feng Sheng.
But this is something for later, so I won't go into details for the time being.
Since Feng Sheng said that he wanted to find someone to teach the two children how to swim, there was no delay, and someone came after a day.
It was also because the two children liked water very much and always wanted to play by the water. Feng Sheng was really afraid that something would go wrong in the middle of the water, and it would be too late to regret it, so she hurried to find him.
The people were selected from the guards of the palace. These two people were born in the water village. Few people who grew up in the water village can't water. Like Feng Sheng, the water quality is good. In addition, the imperial concubine also picked a few good and loyal eunuchs to watch from the sidelines, and treated them with extreme caution.
But it turns out that they think a little too much, and the two children learn well and quickly.
Including brother Xuan, seeing his eldest brother and Uncle Sixteen playing in the water, he wanted to play too. After that, he also learned a few times of dog planing.
The imperial concubine heard that some children were learning Fushui, so she ran over to see it. Emperor Jianping knew about it and came with her.
Under the lush trees, there are two tables and a few chairs. On the table are several plates of fresh and juicy fruits, as well as tea and snacks. Occasionally, a gust of cool wind blows, refreshing and refreshing.
Under a tree near the shore, two people were sitting.
Emperor Jianping's trouser legs were rolled up below his knees, and he was pulling on a pair of blue open cloth shoes. He was fishing with a fishing rod in his hand. Sitting next to him was the imperial concubine Li, who was also dressed in a simple blouse, with no makeup on, only a white jade hairpin was inserted into the bun behind her head, which lacked the usual beauty and majesty, and was a little more elegant.
Not far from here, there are many people standing on the shore, including eunuchs and maids, and guards, all of them are ready to fight.
Feng Sheng was also among them, but she looked at the water with a smile.
In the water, Brother Ping and the Sixteenth Prince, who were already familiar with swimming around, sank playfully under the water, and then emerged from other places after a while, laughing loudly from time to time.
Facing the shore, brother Xuan wore a bright red bellyband and floated on the water. He also tied two swim bladders to his body to prevent him from getting into trouble.
In addition, there were two burly men floating beside him, one was supporting him and teaching him how to swim, and the other was protecting him.
Suddenly—
"You two brats, get away from me, don't disturb my fish." Emperor Jianping shouted, blowing his beard and staring.
It was Brother Ping and Shiliu who swam near where Emperor Jianping was, and they stirred up the water so that it splashed everywhere. Emperor Jianping was fishing, so how could he fish like this? No wonder he blows his beard and stares.
"Grandpa Huang, grandson just grab one for you." Saying that, brother Ping plunged into the water.
Feng Sheng was counting the time in her heart, seeing the surface of the water floating for a while, but brother Ping was submerged in the water and never got up. She hurriedly walked this way, and was about to ask someone to go down to have a look, when she heard the sound of splashing water, Ping Brother got out of the water.
Sixteen scolded him for being scary, but Brother Ping laughed out loud and sank again. After going back and forth several times, the last time when Brother Ping surfaced again, he was holding a small fish in his hand.
"Grandfather, fish!"
"You child, you almost didn't scare grandma." Imperial Concubine Li patted her heart and said with lingering fear.
Brother Ping was about to say something when he heard a splash of water, and the fish slipped away from him.
In exchange for this scene, Emperor Jianping burst out laughing, Brother Jue was extremely embarrassed, and was about to go into the water to catch another one, but Feng Sheng ordered him to come out of the water quickly, saying that it was time.
Brother Ju still wanted to intercede with his mother, but Feng Sheng shook his head repeatedly to express his determination. The two went to see the imperial concubine and Emperor Jianping again. Emperor Jianping was just stroking his beard and fishing, while the imperial concubine turned her head to talk to him.
Seeing this, the two children had no choice but to come out of the water with their heads drooping. Brother Xuan wanted to play around, but Feng Sheng used fruit to attract his attention and successfully tricked him out of the water.
A few eunuchs formed a circle with cloth, Brother Yu and Shiliu each led people in to change clothes, Brother Xuan took the fruit and changed outside.
I was busy here, and a voice suddenly sounded: "Father, imperial concubine, third sibling, what are you doing?"
But King Hui led two teenagers and a child who was about the same age as brother Xuan, looking at this place with some astonishment.
In addition to King Hui, there were also King Wu and King Xiang, both of whom had their own sons by their side.