It was late at night, and there was silence all around. "Taiping Geng" came from far away, three long and one short, it is already the end of the Yin Dynasty. There were no candles raised in the hall, and the setting moonlight shone in through the window screens, pouring across the ground like mercury. Rushuang woke up from the horrifying dream, and the cold and thin brocade covered her body like a cocoon, making her breathless. Her heart was beating wildly like a drum, she panted silently, and it took a while before she fumbled for the medicine bottle. She eagerly turned the medicine bottle upside down, barely able to hold it with her trembling fingers, and finally poured out a pill and put it in her mouth. Breathing gradually calmed down, the gloomy medicinal fragrance melted away in her mouth, and the cold sweat dripping from her vest had already soaked her clothes. She fell back on the pillow weakly, her palms were slightly cold, and she lowered her hand weakly, the medicine bottle was already empty.
Behind him was the emperor's steady breathing, if it weren't for the quietness of the night, it would be so shallow that it could hardly be heard. This kind of voice she hates the most, every time in the dead of night, she can no longer suppress the disgust deep in her heart, and even hates herself to the bone. I feel nauseous and nauseous, and every time after taking the medicine, there is always such a weak moment, as if my limbs and bones no longer belong to me, and even my body is illusory and soft. She lay quietly for a while, and finally gained the strength to leave the bed without a sound. In the light of the pale moon, she could see her flat gold embroidered shoes, the double-petaled gold thread embroidered lotus, and her bare feet stepping on them. , the ankle reveals a delicate blue color like porcelain, and a blue and white flower blooms in the lotus flower. She lowered her eyes, there is no bright whiteness in this world anymore, even the moonlight, through multiple curtains, the light is also gray, faint like a candle that is not extinguished, so hazy that even the shadow of a person can't be seen. Can only outline a few shallow strokes. She stepped very lightly and walked through the heavy curtains almost silently. The maid of the watch watch was still dozing off under the candlestick in the outer hall. She stood there and picked up the candle scissors on the desk to cut off the candles. In such a sweltering night, even the small candlelight felt unbearably scorching. A bright core of light in the candle wick is like an exquisite flower, but in an instant, it becomes extremely red and turns to ashes.
The candlelight brightened up, and the palace lady woke up in shock. She didn't say a word, and lightly clapped her hands to call people in. The one who came to pick her up was Huier, a palace maid from Qingliang Palace, who took the cloak and tried to put it on her, but she blocked it with her hand. Although the night was late, it was still surprisingly hot, and there was not even a breath of wind. When they came out of the hall, an internal official waited for them with a lamp. Seeing them coming out, he bowed to lead the way. The corridor is extremely long, although she has to walk up it every day and night, the flickering lights are dimly in front of her, illuminating the green brick floor under her feet, as bright as a mirror. Rushuang suddenly felt it was ridiculous, such a quiet night, such a lamp meandering along the corridor, it was really like a lonely ghost, wandering back and forth, desolate and silent.
The lamps were still on in Qingliang Hall, and the internal officials and maids were waiting there. She said: "Go to sleep." She helped Hui'er into the pavilion, and Hui'er lifted the Zhuluo curtain for her. She was extremely sleepy. He just said, "The medicine is gone, tell them to send another bottle." Then he fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep turned out to be very good. When she woke up, the sun was full of the window, and she was in a trance for a moment, as if she was still a little girl, in the boudoir of the embroidery building, and woke up at noon. The nanny was picking fomi in the back room, There was silence all around. I can only see the shadow of the sun moving quietly through the window gap, and according to the table, a handful of hosta flowers in a bottle are as white and straight as jade, and the fragrance is far away and clear. She picked up a flower, and the soft petals brushed against the side of her face, making one feel confused. The convex and concave patterns on the window are branded on the arms through the thin clothes, and the thin and dense patterns of twirling branches make the branches and leaves look like vines. The sound of cicadas could be faintly heard from the depths of the dense green shade, as if there were still laughter, maybe Xiaohuan and the little girl next to her were still naughty in the corridor, playing with sticky poles to catch cicadas. After a while, Xiaohuan will happily take it into a small cage made of straw, and put a cicada in it, and put it on the dressing table for her.
The sound of cicadas gradually faded away, and the long windows were carved with intricate and delicate patterns, the vermilion base was hollowed out and the dragon and phoenix seals were hollowed out with gold powder paint, such a rich and bright pattern, bright red and gold, the color directly hurts the eyes after a long time. She loosened her fingertips slightly, and the thick buds of the jade hairpin fell to the ground with a very soft "pop", which finally alarmed people. Hui'er came in: "Your Majesty is awake?" Things, she was a little casually at the mercy of others. When combing her hair for the last time, Hui Er was the only one left in front of her, Fang asked, "Where's the medicine?"
A small turquoise porcelain bottle was placed in front of the bronze mirror, it was handled very lightly, Rushuang immediately unplugged it, and poured it in the palm of her hand. Her palm was greasy and white as jade, holding those few pills against the backdrop of countless pearls, her eyebrows were slightly frowned, and she only asked: "Why are there only five?"
Hui'er's voice was extremely low: "It's not easy to prepare this medicine now, someone from outside has brought in a message, please use it first, and then bring it to your mother after the medicine is prepared."
Rushuang slowly put the medicine back into the bottle one by one, and when each pill fell to the bottom of the bottle, there was a crisp sound, "Da... da..." Every grain seemed to fall on the heart. She looked at herself in the mirror, because her brows were light and slightly frowning, so she used Luo Zidai to draw the extremely long ones, which made the waves flow into the temples and radiate brilliance. This method of thrushing eyebrows was started by her, and now even the officials and family members outside the palace have followed suit, which is called "frowning eyebrows". It is said that after this, the snails on the market have risen to the number of ten gold each, and the supply is still in short supply. The imperial censor specially handed over an eloquent remonstrance for this matter, urging the ban, the emperor set it aside, and from then on ordered the palace to stop using Luo Zidai, and she was the only one who still gave it to her. Yue has to buy more than a thousand taels of Daiyin for Rushuang's expenses alone. Concubine Hua sneered at this remark, and said: "No matter how much you draw, you can't draw the third eyebrow." At this time, Rushuang frowned slightly, and the peak of the eyebrow was faint, like a daisy on a distant mountain, with red gold phoenix hairpin beads on her head Luoyingzi, the extremely long tassels hang down to the eyebrows, rustling. Occasionally, the tassel shakes, flashing the applique on the eyebrows, bright red like a full blood bead, glistening and ready to fall. She put down the medicine bottle casually and rested her chin on her hand, as if a child was sleepy and tired. After a while, a smile appeared on the corner of her lips: "What does he want?"
Hui'er's voice became lower, almost like a whisper: "Your Majesty naturally understands."
Rushuang said casually: "Isn't it too early to do this at this time?"
Hui'er still looked respectful: "The lord said, since the empress already has the 'talisman', that matter should be done sooner rather than later. It should be done sooner rather than later."
Rushuang still looked at herself in the mirror, and after a long time, she replied lightly: "Okay, I hope he doesn't regret it."
Hui'er smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, Shenghui, you won't be disappointed."
Rushuang acted as if she had never heard of it, and said lazily: "Send someone to ask if there is any meal from the emperor."
No lunch was announced, because the emperor had just woken up, and the internal officials reported to Prince Yu that he wanted to see him. The emperor said casually: "Then say that I haven't woken up yet, and ask him to come back in the afternoon." Although the voice was through the window, it was clear and clear with consistent persistence: "In that case, the minister Dingluan is here to wait." The emperor smiled unconsciously: "I tell you to stand in front of me—come in." Prince Yu Wearing a court dress, a gold boa robe with scarlet embroidered, and a white jade fish-dragon buckle belt, she looked more and more heroic, kneeling down to perform the great gift to meet the prince. He had already had a special decree not to kneel in front of the emperor. The emperor saw that he was so solemn and knew that he would do something, so he couldn't help but feel a headache, and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, just say what you want, don't make such a fuss Mood."
But Prince Yu refused to get up: "My brother is stupid, I feel that I can't take on this important task, and everything has to be judged by the emperor." The emperor laughed and said: "Those old men must be giving you a headache, I know it, and I have also done it these few days. Take a break - I'll just go and deal with them tomorrow morning, if you continue to talk bureaucratically with fourth brother like this, I'm really going to turn against you."
Prince Yu said: "Thank you, brother." The emperor smiled and said: "Get up, if you don't get up again, you really seem to be angry with me." Bo Chu's chief leader, Lan Wan, seems to have a lot of ambition." The emperor's eyes flickered, and he fell silent. Prince Yu said: "The imperial court has used troops against Nanmin and Wu Shule one after another for many years, and has been unable to spare any time. In addition, Dinglan Pass is dangerous and easy to defend, so they let Qi Erwu go for so many years. I am afraid that today it will become a threat to the tiger. .”
The emperor said: "Since we have grown a fierce tiger, we can only smash its sharp teeth when we are 100% sure." There were so many memorials accumulated, and they were not finished until the beginning of the day. The emperor passed on the meal and ordered to give Prince Yu a table of royal meals. I haven't passed on the meals." Although the emperor has four concubines, the "Niangniang" in the mouth of the internal officials refers to the concubine Mu Shi. Although Concubine Hua was temporarily photographed in the Sixth Palace, she lost her luck to the emperor because of the assassination. The emperor was as proud as frost, not only gave her to live in the Qingliang Palace which is the closest to Yuqing Palace, but also brought her with her every day, and even shared meals with her. — This is the queen's prerogative. Naturally, there was an uproar in the harem for this overstepping the rules, and the supervisor of ceremonies had no choice but to dissuade him. The emperor said: "I am the son of heaven. Is it possible that I eat with some woman every day, and such trivial matters cannot be resolved by myself?" After losing his temper, this matter will be followed from now on. At this moment, Cheng Yuan's words are intended to remind the emperor that concubine Shu is still waiting for him.
The emperor said "Oh" and said: "Then go tell Concubine Shu that I will have dinner with my seventh brother today, so you don't have to wait for me." Cheng Yuan just stepped back a few steps when the emperor stopped him again, "Concubine Shu these few days Poor appetite, I'm afraid it's caused by greed for cold and hurt the stomach, tell her not to indulge in melons, fruits and cold vegetables, those things hurt the spleen and stomach." Cheng Yuan answered "Yes", and the emperor said again, "Also, Chuan Yu Please take a pulse from the doctor, don't delay and it will become a big problem." Cheng Yuan's face suddenly looked distressed, the emperor knew that Rushuang had always been paranoid, and most of all, he tabooed illnesses and avoided medical treatment. , I'm afraid I will lose my temper. The emperor said: "Just say it's my will. If people feel uncomfortable, how can we not let the doctor see it."
Cheng Yuan took the order to leave, Prince Yu was very careful when he saw the emperor's instructions, and thought silently in his heart. Although the imperial meal was delicacies from mountains and seas, it was related to the etiquette system. Prince Yu was not a greedy person, and the emperor was afraid of heat, so he usually ate less in hot weather. Both of them felt that it was boring. After the meal was removed, the palace lady brought tea, and Cheng Yuan came back to reply, and she said, "Long live, the empress said that she is not sick, so I won't let the imperial doctor see her." This was expected by the emperor, and Cheng Yuan smiled , hesitatingly said: "There is one more thing... I don't know if I should say it or not." The emperor was furious: "What should I say or not? Is this the rule for replying to the master? I dote on you too much on weekdays, and everyone just wants to talk to you." You almost rebelled. If you dare to talk too much, I will break your dog legs." Cheng Yuan has always been favored by the emperor, he didn't want to bump into such a big nail today, he was so frightened that he kowtowed, and said: "Damn it, slave."
The emperor let out a sigh of relief, took a sip of the tea served by the maid. Seeing that Cheng Yuan was retreating, Prince Yu suddenly said: "My younger brother has something to ask the emperor for mercy. Theoretically, this matter should not be asked by my younger brother, but if Dingluan doesn't say anything, no one will say it to fourth brother. Concubine Han did not make a big mistake, for the sake of looking at the eldest son of the emperor, please forgive her."
The emperor asked: "Why did you mention this all of a sudden?" Prince Yu said: "I heard that the eldest son of the emperor suffered from sunstroke the day before yesterday, and Concubine Han is his biological mother. It is more appropriate for her to take care of the eldest son's diet and daily life than others."
The eldest son of the emperor, Yu Zhu, was only three years old and originally lived with his biological mother, Concubine Han. Since Concubine Han was demoted, four wet nurses and six internal officials accompanied the eldest son to live with Concubine Hua. Due to the hot weather these few days, the eldest son of the emperor suffered from heatstroke and cried and cried endlessly every day. The emperor was worried about this matter. Hearing what Prince Yu said, he nodded his head, "That's fine." He then ordered Cheng Yuan to come in, but Seeing Cheng Yuan bowing his head and saluting, the emperor was angry and funny, and reprimanded: "Look at this promise." Cheng Yuan said with a bitter face, "I ask the emperor to punish you for your misbehavior." The emperor said: "I won't punish you either. If you have an errand, I will entrust it to you, and you will go back to Xichangjing immediately to convey my will and order Concubine Han to come to Donghuajing."
In such a hot weather, galloping for hundreds of miles can be regarded as a hard job, but Cheng Yuan smiled instantly, and quickly saluted: "Your servant obeys the order."
After lunch, the emperor had to take a nap as usual, so Prince Yu came out and saw the little eunuch Liu Fu filling the bird cage with water. Seeing him, he hurriedly saluted: "I have seen you, my lord." Prince Yu knew that he was also Zhao Youzhi's disciple, so he was resourceful. Then he asked: "Go and see if Cheng Yuan has left. If he hasn't left the palace yet, tell him that I will wait for him at the gate of the palace. I have a few words to tell him." Liu Fu hurriedly agreed and went. Prince Yu came out of the palace and ordered the sedan chair to wait outside the Qiankun gate, after a while, he saw Cheng Yuan was accompanied by two servants. Seeing Prince Yu's sedan chair, Cheng Yuan ordered the two servants to stay where they were, only he walked over and saluted from a distance: "Your servant has seen the prince." Prince Yu said: "Excuse me." Cheng Yuan said: "Yes, I heard that the lord summoned me, but I don't know what orders the lord has." Prince Yu asked: "This time when you return to Beijing, will you go by land or by water?"
From Donghuajing to Xichangjing, there is a land route and a water route. The waterway is far away and the boat travels slowly, Cheng Yuan said: "Your maidservant is planning to go by land, please ride faster." Prince Yu nodded slightly, and said: "Concubine Han is ordered to go to the palace, you must be careful on the way, the weather is too hot, the car and sedan chair are tired Yes, don’t let your mother suffer from heatstroke.” Cheng Yuan pondered the meaning of his words and couldn’t help saying: “My lord, the royal family usually travels by water.” Prince Yu said: “I know, but the number of concubine Han Moon has not seen the eldest son of the emperor, and he loves his son so much that he will definitely go by land." Cheng Yuan had an epiphany, and he couldn't help sweating profusely, and saluted Prince Yu: "Your servant understands."
The sound of cicadas could be heard, the weather was hot, there was no shelter outside the palace gate, the scorching sun in the afternoon, Cheng Yuanben's clothes were soaked in sweat, at this time, the scorching sun gradually dried up, forming a layer of frost, which was painful and painful on the back itch. But I heard Prince Yu say: "You have to work hard here, go and come back quickly, don't delay." Cheng Yuan respectfully said: "My lord, please rest assured, servants will do their best." Prince Yu nodded, the inner palace had sent Liang With three steeds, Cheng Yuan saluted and bid farewell to Prince Yu, and led the horses for a hundred paces with the two servants, until they walked out of the forbidden road before getting on their horses and leaving.
Prince Yu watched the three riders gallop away, gradually drifting away, and then let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, Cheng Yuan did his job properly, and at the end of the second day, he waited on Concubine Han's car and rushed back to the palace. Needless to say, it was hard work to go back and forth in such a hot weather in two days full of dust. Concubine Han had never traveled a long distance in such hot weather, she followed Cheng Yuan's persuasion, and set off in the early morning, abandoning the boat and taking a car, the journey was extremely hard. After entering the palace, he hastily bathed and changed his clothes, and then went to thank the emperor.
Because of the hot weather, the heat still persisted at dusk, so the emperor enjoyed the coolness with Rushuang in the water pavilion at the back of Qingliang Hall. Rushuang has lost her appetite recently, and the dinner is only perfunctory. At this time, the imperial dining room puts an ice bowl, which is made of fresh lotus root, melon, peach, and honey mixed with crushed ice. Rushuang is always greedy for cold, the emperor Fearing that she would hurt her stomach, she was not allowed to eat more of such cold food, so he ordered the internal officials to take half a bowl for her. Rushuang finished half of the bowl, because there was more than half of the bowl in front of the emperor's case, the jade-colored thin porcelain bowl was faintly translucent, the broken ice in the bowl was up and down, and the honey was thick, making the melon and peach sweet and fragrant, cool and refreshing people. She took the silver spoon, picked a piece of peach and ate it. The emperor smiled and said: "Ah, ah, there is no one who robs others to eat." Rushuang held the tip of the spoon, looked back and smiled, showing bright teeth like jade: "How can this be called robbing?" Then she picked another piece of melon and put it on the table. During the entrance, the emperor took the bowl away, handed it to the little eunuch, and said: "I can't eat any more, and my stomach is sour again, I don't know what I ate wrong yesterday, and I vomited it all up this morning, and now I have forgotten the lesson. "Ru Shuang was about to speak, when suddenly an internal official came in to report that Concubine Han had arrived, and she came here to pay her respects to the emperor. The smile on Rushuang's face faltered, and after a while she sneered, threw the silver spoon in her hand on the table, turned and left.
The emperor had no choice but to order the inner officer: "Tell her not to come to pay her respects. The eldest son of the emperor is currently in Concubine Hua's palace. Let her go and see the prince first."