At night, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
It was Li Yu who was watching the night. He was holding the whisk and standing on the edge of the bed with his back upright.
In the end, Hongli finally lifted the quilt: "I can't sleep, I want to go out for a walk!"
After walking, they entered the Yanxi Palace.
The dragon boots stepped on the snow, creaking, and Hongli walked with one foot deep and one shallow, one foot accidentally stepped into the snow pit.
"Be careful, Your Majesty!" Li Yu hurriedly reached out to support him.
"What happened!" Hongli pulled out his feet and said angrily, "Isn't it possible that the snow in Yanxi Palace hasn't been swept away since the beginning of winter?"
Although the movement he made was not big, it was not small. There should have been people from the night vigil who got up to visit, but until Hongli walked outside the dormitory, no one came out.
Hongli's brows furrowed, and Li Yu watched his words and said, "Hey, Your Majesty, these servants are too unruly..."
Hongli suddenly waved his hand, signaling him to keep silent.
In the dark Yanxi Palace, there is a little light.
Hongli walked towards the light, and when he got closer, he realized that it was a candle, swaying weakly in the candlestick, and smashed a little light and a little heat on the broken window.
Hongli was standing outside the window, looking at her in the window through the hole and the little light.
The people in Yanxi Palace didn't know where they were, so Wei Yingluo was left alone, sitting under the lamp alone. It was already midnight and she was still doing embroidery work.
It must be very cold in the room, because every now and then she has to stop for a while, rub her hands, put her slightly bruised fingers to her mouth and inhale, and wait for her fingers to regain some consciousness before picking up needlework and embroidery again.
It was just that the room was not only cold, but also dark. Perhaps to make the candle burn longer, the wick was pinched very small. Wei Yingluo sat next to such a candle to embroider, and rubbed her eyes after embroidering for a while.
With such a down-and-out appearance, even Li Yu couldn't bear to see it, not to mention... He glanced at Hongli carefully, and sure enough, he saw heartache on his face.
It is false to say that Hongli has no resentment in his heart.
But no matter how much resentment, he just avoided her, and didn't deliberately embarrass her... At least he never thought of embarrassing a person in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation! Embarrass his woman!
Would you like something to eat? Would you like to wear some thick clothes? No matter how bad it is, can you light the candles a little bit? Don't make me feel so guilty, okay
-These words were churning in Hongli's heart, but he couldn't say it for a long time.
call-
The candles in the house suddenly flickered.
Wei Yingluo hurriedly put down her needle and thread, and stretched out her hand to protect the candle, lest it be blown out by the cold wind pouring in from outside.
The candle light flickered violently for a while, and finally stabilized. Wei Yingluo sighed and looked at the window unconsciously. Hongli hurriedly avoided, not forgetting to pull Li Yu aside, the two of them were on the wall like geckos. It's been a long time since it was posted, and it was so cold that Li Yu lowered her head and sneezed.
Hongli glared at him fiercely.
Li Yu hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands and looked at him innocently.
After waiting for a while, Hongli quietly glanced at the window and was relieved to see Wei Yingluo still bowing her head to embroider.
"Your Majesty." Li Yu asked in a low voice, "Aren't you going in?"
Hongli shook his head, turned and left.
Although the person is gone, the heart remains.
This night he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, she looked like she was puffing at the palm of her hand, her thin and pointed chin, and the Guanyin statue in her hand.
- But he didn't want to, the next day, he actually saw this Avalokitesvara again.
in the Queen Mother's Palace.
Smokeless charcoal was burning in the house, and even in winter, it was as warm as spring. The queen mother held the embroidered statue in her hands, and her eyes showed undisguised love: "This Guanyin is dignified and amiable, compassionate and sympathetic, and his skin is round and clean. , the pleated belt is also very three-dimensional, and the embroidery workshop has made great efforts this time!"
Concubine Chungui smiled slightly: "The queen mother is wrong, this Guanyin is like a gift for you, how dare they not give their hearts?"
The empress dowager nodded with a smile, turned around and asked someone to hang the embroidered statue: "Your Majesty, come and take a look."
After getting closer, Hongli was even more certain that the embroidered portrait in front of him was the one made by Wei Yingluo. He glanced at Concubine Chung, and saw that she was only joking with the Queen Mother, without even mentioning Wei Yingluo. Touching the portrait: "Guanyin's hair is so realistic, it doesn't look like embroidery thread, could it be... is this the hair of a real person?"
The empress dowager looked at Concubine Chungui: "Xiu Niang used blue silk to paint?"
Concubine Chungui glanced at the Buddha statue and said, "Han people are different from Manchus. If the Manchus break their hair, it is disrespectful, but the Han people embroider with blue silk, which shows their devotion to the Bodhisattva! This is a long-standing practice. , called hair embroidery."
Hongli's fingers crossed Guanyin's eyebrows a little red: "This point is clearly blood."
Concubine Chung lowered her eyes: "Your Majesty, this may just be a coincidence. The embroidered mother's blood fell on the embroidered stretcher. In order to avoid being seen, it turned into a little red on the forehead."
The queen mother sighed: "This embroidery girl is really clever, I really want to see it."
How could Concubine Chung be willing to let Wei Yingluo share her favor, she immediately smiled and said, "The empress dowager did not complete the embroidery alone, but the best embroidery girls in the entire embroidery workshop worked together. If you want to see it, the concubine will go to announce it in person."
The queen mother held the embroidered statue and nodded: "There are embroidered mothers who are good at embroidering. There are many in the palace, but there are very few who are willing to work like this. They should be well rewarded."
Hongli looked at the pure noble concubine with a complex face.
Returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he was still unable to let go of his mind for a long time. For a while, there was blood in the heart of the Bodhisattva, and for a while, Wei Yingluo was coughing and embroidering. Send it to Yanxi Palace!"
Li Yu glanced at him: "Hey."
"Wait!" The emperor stopped him: "Remember, this was not sent by me! It's..."
Li Yu: "It was the Ministry of Internal Affairs that wanted to make up for the mistake and sent a new charcoal basin on purpose. The servant understands that, the emperor can rest assured!"
Hongli snorted coldly.
Li Yu was about to go out holding the brazier, and Hongli knocked on the table: "Send another glazed palace lantern, I don't like blind people!"
"Ah." Li Yu responded, and suddenly asked him, "Your Majesty, since you are reluctant to make a concubine, why don't you go see her?"
Hongli scolded: "Shut up!"
Li Yu immediately slapped himself in the face: "Minions talk too much!"
Hongli was not angry with him, he suddenly stood up, walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and said with a bit of gnashing of teeth: "I don't care about her, I just don't want someone in the harem to be mistreated, these dog servants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, even as concubines No matter how unfavored they are, they will not be tolerated!"
Li Yu: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the slaves will be punished severely!"
The poor live in the busy city and no one asks, and the rich have distant relatives in the busy city. Seeing Hongli's change of heart, the Yanxi Palace, which had been so splendid, became lively again. The eunuchs were busy carrying braziers, hanging palace lanterns, and even the curtains on the bed and the window paper on the windows were replaced with new ones.
There is a lot of work, but more people.
The palace servants who had been looking for ways to find a way around now returned to the Yanxi Palace. In order to make up for their faults and express their sincerity in front of the master, they rushed to work one by one, and none of them complained of bitterness or tiredness.
Suffering or tired is not terrible, but I am afraid that Wei Yingluo will settle accounts after the autumn.
"Oh, isn't this Director Wu? Rare guests and rare guests." Mingyu came over with his arms on his hips, "Why are you free today, condescending to come to this Yanxi Palace?"
Wu Shulai smiled apologetically and said, "Ms. Mingyu, isn't it winter? The Yanxi Palace has not been set up yet, so the concubines will suffer! As soon as the servants found out, they immediately brought them here, and I only ask for forgiveness from the servants! When they go back, they must be severely skinned!"
There are many people in the palace who are holding high and stepping down, and one of them is this Wu Shulai.
It stands to reason that with the friendship that fell from the embroidery workshop, even if he didn't help Wei Yingluo, he shouldn't be in trouble, but in fact? He was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but Yanxi Palace lacked this and that, and sometimes he couldn't even take a bite of a hot meal.
Mingyu has all these things in mind, and now that the time has come, he will not be polite to him, and he immediately sneered: "Winter has been more than a month, which palace does not have a brazier palace lantern, do you believe what Director Wu said? "
Wu Shulai is also a ruthless person, and regardless of the subordinates around him, he slapped himself twice: "It's the servants who are not good, it's all the servants who are negligent! You have made a lot of concubines, please forgive the servants!"
Of course he didn't want to lose face in front of his subordinates, but his face was more important than his inner self.
There was already rumors in the palace that the emperor was furious and wanted to investigate the matter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' harsh ordering of concubines.
... I'm so sorry! How could he be fooled by the lard and help the tossing concubine
You know they are old friends!
When he was in the embroidery workshop, he had been optimistic about Ling Concubine, and he helped him several times. It can be said that Ling Concubine has today's status, and he also has a share of credit.
If he can keep this relationship going, he doesn't have to worry about tracing things today, but should think about how to take it to the next level.
Stupid, he is so stupid!
Wu Shulai regretted the beginning. At this moment, he could only look at Wei Yingluo, hoping that she would forgive him this time, and say good things for him in front of the emperor.
But he stared at it for a long time, Wei Yingluo just lowered her head to embroider without looking at him.
Wu Shulai was even more uneasy, and his demeanor became more flattering and complimenting: "If your concubine has any instructions in the future, as long as you say it, the servant will definitely do it, it will be done! If this happens again, the servant will take off his head, Use it as a chair for your maiden!"
"Okay!" Mingyu glanced at Wei Yingluo, and then said to him, "Mr. Wu, if you are afraid of making noise, you should take someone and leave quickly!"
"Leave right away! The servant will leave right away!" Wu Shulai turned back one step at a time, but Wei Yingluo never looked up at him.
It is said that the clothes are not as good as the new ones, but this kind of person is not as good as a piece of clothing.
Clothes can also provide a touch of warmth when the weather is cold, how about him? He did help Wei Yingluo when he was in the embroidery workshop, but Wei Yingluo did not benefit him in vain. The reason why he was able to sit firmly in the position of the head of the Internal Affairs Office today and suppressed the others so much that they could not lift their heads, among them Wei Yingluo The credit lies in.
But he didn't want to help him. When she needed help, he was stingy with a pot of charcoal.
"Niangniang." Mingyu said, "He has already left."
Wei Yingluo looked up at the door.
"Don't blame me for being ruthless." She thought to herself, "If you let you go lightly this time, everyone will think that I am weak and deceitful. You can cling to me today, and then kick me away when I am at a low point... Anyway As long as I apologize casually in the future, I can easily accept it."
Another group of footsteps entered the Yanxi Palace.
One holds a brazier, the other holds a glazed lamp.
It was not a few days ago in Yanxi Palace, and there were no shortage of these two things in the palace. If Wei Yingluo was willing, she could even replace the candles with the night pearls given by Hongli, and put a large box full of them on the table. Light up the entire bedroom.
"Niangniang." Mingyu looked at Wei Yingluo and asked how to deal with these two things.
Wei Yingluo thought for a moment, then laughed, "He's reminding me... It's time to thank me."
Night, the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Hongli was reviewing the memorial, but his mind was not on the memorial. When he heard footsteps outside, he immediately dropped his pen. When he saw the person coming, the smile on his face disappeared little by little, and asked, "Why won't the concubine come to thank you?"
Li Yu was stunned for a moment, then said with an apologetic smile: "Your Majesty, your concubine is not in the palace."
A pen was thrown into his face, and Hongli said coldly, "Go down!"
"Yes, yes." Li Yu hurriedly bowed and stepped back. Before leaving, he gave a wink to a little eunuch beside him. The little eunuch lowered his head and walked forward with a bowl of lotus seed soup.
This little eunuch was wearing a jacket with arrow sleeves and boots on his feet. He was petite. Hongli looked at it and was extremely unfamiliar. He thought it was Li Yuxin's apprentice, so he said coldly, "Put your things down, and you go out too."
"Hey." The little eunuch choked his throat to answer the voice. The lotus seed soup was placed on the desk, but his hand touched Hongli's fingers irregularly. Hongli was startled and was about to get angry, but suddenly he was stunned and lifted it away. His hat: "Wei Yingluo!"
A long black braid hung down from his right shoulder, Wei Yingluo tilted her head at him and smiled, indescribably cute.
Hongli was furious: "Who allowed you to come in, Li Yu! Li Yu!"
Putting her finger lightly on his lips, Wei Yingluo said softly, "Your Majesty, I miss you."
Like a tiger with a chain around its neck, like a kite held by a string, Hongli, who was in a rage, suddenly calmed down and stared at her.
"What about you?" Wei Yingluo gently stroked his lips, softly and itchy, "Does the emperor just not want to see his concubine at all?"
Hongli grabbed her restless fingers and complained: "Li Yu, this bastard, dares to let you in casually, and what are you dressed like, the more indecent!"
Although he complained, his hands were very honest, he wrapped her waist all at once and put her on his lap.
Wei Yingluo's body was delicate and soft, sitting on his lap like a child, her hands and feet were restless like a child, a small foot lightly stepped on Hongli's instep, and complained softly, "If not The emperor is indiscriminately jealous, and concubines and concubines will not be dressed like this, so they can go out of the palace to see you."
"How dare you blame me! It's you and Fu Heng—" Hongli said here, his face darkened again, and the hand on her waist was unwittingly released.
But Yingluo took his hand and put it on her waist again: "The emperor is really careful. He has been angry for so long, and he is still brooding. Yes, the first queen did intend to give her concubine to Lord Fucha."
Hongli: "You!"
Yingluo did not shy away: "But didn't the emperor personally reject it?"
Hongli: "That's because I am afraid that you will harm Fu Heng? There is no selfishness at all!"
"Yingluo wants you to be selfish, because Yingluo also has selfishness towards you." Wei Yingluo looked at him sternly, "Perhaps in the emperor's heart, Yingluo is insignificant, but Wei Yingluo is already your wife, you are the only master, and only You have a husband!"
Without the charcoal fire, the room was a little cold, but Hongli's heart warmed up because of this sentence. After a long time, he gently held her hand and pressed it to his heart: "Don't mention this again, you don't mention it, I don't mention it, and people in the palace are not allowed to mention it, who will spread similar rumors again Harm you... I will kill without mercy!"
"Your Majesty..." There were tears in Wei Yingluo's eyes, she called softly, and then leaned on his chest, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Hongli sighed, and wrapped him around his heart lovingly, only to feel that this woman was like a thorn in his heart, and it hurt even if he pulled it out. Over time, it grew into his flesh and became a part of his flesh and blood. , can no longer be separated.