The palace is not big, about a quarter of the palace's area, but it is beautifully decorated with carved beams and paintings.
During this trip, among the three thousand beauties in Emperor Baoqing's harem, only one concubine Yin was lucky enough to accompany her. The house in Qingwan of the Forbidden City was arranged in the concubine's courtyard.
When a noble concubine travels, her ceremonial staff is comparable to that of a queen, and she is accompanied by twelve maids and twelve chamberlains. Except for the phoenix crown she is not wearing, the rest are almost the same.
Qingguan kept a distance from the imperial concubine and did not go out for two days. Apart from asking for the emperor's pulse in the morning and evening, he only stayed in his room at other times.
The only few times, by chance, she met the wise king who came to greet her. The wise king's gaze fell directly on her without any cover.
Qing Wan seemed unaware, but Ye Qing and Ye Zi on both sides could see clearly and were secretly on guard.
When the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, officials were required to burn incense, bathe, and abstain from sexual intercourse to show their respect for heaven and earth. Even so, the wise king also brought four beautiful maids with him on this trip.
But as the old saying goes, a wife is worse than a concubine, a concubine is worse than a thief, and a thief is worse than being unable to steal.
Gu Qingguan's beauty is not so beautiful, but it is still 70% or 80% charming. Especially during the half month of driving, he is physically and mentally exhausted, and his immature face has added a lot of weakness and charm.
He secretly looked for opportunities.
September 9th, Double Ninth Festival.
The wind is gentle and the sun is beautiful, and the autumn air is crisp.
Emperor Baoqing led hundreds of officials and started worshiping heaven in front of the altar built at the foot of the mountain.
This sacrifice lasts for an hour.
Qingguan looked on with confusion at the complicated rituals and complicated rules.
She and Liu Zhaoyu glanced at each other, knowing that after this sacrifice, the emperor would have to be ill for two months before he could fully recover.
After the sacrifice, Emperor Baoqing, King Xian and others walked to Mount Tai to perform the ennobling ceremony.
Mount Tai is so high that it can reach the sky.
Emperor Baoqing only climbed half a cup of tea before he was out of breath and turned pale.
The salute officials hurriedly carried the prepared sedan onto the sedan. Emperor Baoqing was helped into the sedan while the remaining officials continued to climb.
Qingguan was weak and could not climb to the top of the mountain alone. Fortunately, Ye Qing and Ye Zi were both strong, so they held her on the left and right, half-hugging and half-supporting her.
Even so, by the time they reached the top of the mountain, Qingguan's face was pale and he was sweating profusely, but he was just holding on.
Ye Zi's face turned pale with anger, but he couldn't vent his anger and could only look at the young lady.
Qingguan shook his head slightly, indicating that she didn't need to mind.
Renovate for a while.
The ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven officially begins.
Emperor Baoqing walked to the big altar on the top of the mountain and worshiped to heaven, earth, and all the gods...
Qingguan did not dare to be careless and stared directly at the emperor's face to judge his current physical condition.
Suddenly, a line of sight looked at her. Qingguan lowered her eyes slightly, with a shy red color on her face.
The simple official robe conceals the beauty, and the slightly curved neck is as white as jade porcelain, as if a thin willow cannot be grasped. The towering view further down gives people a strange temptation.
In this most solemn sacrificial occasion in the world, Zhao Jingwei felt heat rising in his lower abdomen and gathering in a certain part of his body, making it difficult to control himself for a moment.
Perhaps that gaze was too scorching, and Liu Zhaoyu on the side suddenly raised his head and followed the gaze, feeling frightened in his heart.
After a long while, he turned his head and said, "Qingwan, be careful of the virtuous king."
Qingguan looked at him blankly and said, "Why?"
Liu Zhaoyu gritted his teeth. This woman was really innocent. The wise king looked at her clearly... clearly...
"Don't ask, just avoid it!"
"Yes!" Qingguan nodded obediently, her long eyelashes trembling twice.
Shen Chang's ceremony finally ended.
At the first moment of the hour, the emperor paid his last bow and sweat broke out on his forehead. Surrounded by everyone, he got into the sedan and went down the mountain. The emperor's ceremonial frame followed the sedan in an orderly manner.
At sunset, the emperor returned to his palace.
Since they were going to the "Jiangchan Altar" on Sheshou Mountain to worship the Earth God on the second day, Qingguan, Liu Zhaoyu and other Emperor Baoqing came forward to ask for pulse together when Emperor Baoqing changed out of his court clothes.
His pulse was slightly sick, obviously due to overwork.
Qingguan drew up a prescription, mixed the medicine himself, and handed it to Eunuch Li to cook the medicine. Liu Zhaoyu immediately used massage techniques to relieve the emperor's fatigue.
After everything was done, Qingguan left first and went back to his room to rest early.
On the second day, Emperor Baoqing worshiped the earth gods. After the ceremony, he returned to the palace to rest, and held a banquet for the ministers in the evening of the next day.
As night falls, the atrium is as bright as day.
Hundreds of banquet tables were filled with guests, and the banquet was held in the open air in the exquisite palace garden.
The emperor and the noble concubine sat at attention and raised their glasses to the ministers.
Meiji sings and dances, her voice is soft, her words are full of smiles. The golden cups and silver cups contain fine wines that will make you drunk without drinking.
The banquet that all the officials were looking forward to made Gu Qingguan feel bored. She kicked Liu Zhaoyu aside and said in a low voice: "In the past two days, I have been running into the wise king."
Liu Zhaoyu's heart beat rapidly when he heard this, and he subconsciously looked at the Xian King.
By coincidence, the King Xian was looking at him, and Liu Zhaoyu was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head. He thought to himself, this wise king is too courageous. How dare he have his thoughts on Jiang Qiye's people
No, he has to pay attention!
Qingwan's goal was achieved. After holding back a yawn, she glanced at Liu Zhaoyu and quietly exited the garden.
Ye Qing and Ye Zi were waiting aside. When they saw the young lady coming out, they rushed to greet her. The master and servant helped each other back to the room.
It will be safe to go back.
Liu Zhaoyu was about to let out a long sigh of relief, but out of the corner of his eye he saw King Xian getting up and following him out. His scalp suddenly exploded, his chest heaved a few times, and he moved quietly.
The three masters and servants of Qingguan walked to the rockery while laughing.
Suddenly, several black shadows emerged from the quiet darkness, surrounding the master and servant.
The person's attack was like lightning. In just a blink of an eye, Ye Qing and Ye Zi were struck in the back of the head with a palm, and fell to the ground unconscious.
A tiny ray of light flashed in Qingguan's eyes, and she said sternly: "You...you guys...are bold."
Under the moonlight, a charming and handsome face slowly walked out of the darkness and looked at her with a smile.
The light green autumn shirt of the woman in front of her stood out against her snow-colored skin, and her slender waist became more and more visible. She was as fragile as a woman in clothes. She had the gentleness and tenderness of a daughter from the south of the Yangtze River, which made people feel pity for her.
Zhao Jingwei swallowed and said with a smile: "Gu Qingwan, I said, you can't escape my grasp."
Gu Qingguan's lips lost color. He was so shocked that he covered his mouth with his hand and silently slipped a black pill between his fingers into his mouth.
The next moment, she received a heavy blow on her neck, her body went limp and she lost consciousness.
Zhao Jingwei looked at the silent woman, with a proud smile on her lips, "Someone, put her in her room."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After a while, while waiting for the people to leave, a pair of eyes poked out from behind the big tree, with fear in their eyes.
As the night progressed, the palace gradually sank into quiet darkness.
Emperor Baoqing took off his royal robes surrounded by maids. He felt extremely tired from the long trip.
Concubine Yin's eyes showed distress, she took his hand and helped him lie down on the couch.
"The emperor's face looks bad. I asked Nu Nu to give me a set of massage techniques and gave the emperor a squeeze."
Emperor Baoqing half-closed his eyes and nodded slowly.
Concubine Yin sat beside him and put her hands on the emperor's head, pressing it gently but not too hard.
Eunuch Li brought the medicine in at this moment, tested the medicine with a silver needle as usual, and tasted it himself before calling out in a low voice.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... the medicine is ready."
After calling a few times, there was no movement, only gentle breathing.
Concubine Yin made a silent gesture and said: "Your Majesty is tired. Please put the medicine aside first. It will not be too late to drink it after Your Majesty has rested enough."
"Yes, Madam. It's late at night, Madam, please go back and rest."
Concubine Yin shook her head, "I'll hold him down for a while. This trip is so tiring that even an iron man can't bear it."
"My dear, I'm tired!"
Eunuch Li praised him and stood aside quietly with his head bowed.
After a while, a chamberlain came in to ask for instructions. Eunuch Li was afraid of disturbing the emperor, so he went outside to talk with them.
For a moment, the palace was silent except for the curl of clear smoke.
Concubine Yin's peripheral vision fell on the steaming bowl of soup, and her heartbeat quickened.
She looked down at the emperor who was sleeping soundly, bit her lips hard, and pretended to get up to get some tea.
The broad sleeves of the robe were gently brushed by, and a pill as big as a grain of rice fell into the soup and disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Concubine Yin lifted the tea cup, took a sip, and smiled silently.
When the emperor woke up and drank this bowl of medicine, he would faint and fall asleep within half an hour. No matter who he was, there was no way to wake him up.
So what happens next...
"Did I just fall asleep?" Emperor Baoqing suddenly woke up for some unknown reason.
Concubine Yin was so startled that her whole body trembled, her heart pounded, she took two deep breaths, looked back and helped him up with a forced smile, "Your Majesty is too tired, but he didn't fall asleep. By chance, this medicine is not hot at all. I will bring it to the Emperor."
Just at this moment, Eunuch Li left and came back again. Hearing what the imperial concubine said, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, come here, old slave!"
Concubine Yin smiled calmly and said, "Eunuch Li, it's rare for me to serve the emperor, so just rest aside. You are very tired these days."
Emperor Baoqing waved his hand, but looked at Eunuch Li. When he saw him nodding slightly, knowing that the medicine had been tested, Fang smiled and said, "Let the imperial concubine serve me."
Eunuch Li smiled and said, "Old slave, thank you for your consideration."
Concubine Yin smiled, stood up, picked up the medicine, picked up the spoon with her bare hands, and flicked it a few times. After seeing that the temperature was appropriate, she handed it to the emperor.
Emperor Baoqing picked up the jade cup and was about to take a sip. Suddenly, the wooden door opened and Liu Zhaoyu barged in in despair.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Concubine Yin's heart skipped a beat. Maybe he had discovered something fishy in the medicine.
Wu Zhao broke into the bedroom without permission, and the emperor's face suddenly darkened.
Eunuch Li's eyes were sharp and he could see clearly. He shouted sternly: "Mr. Liu, how can you be so rude in such a panic?" Liu Zhaoyu was so frightened that his legs weakened and he knelt down, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty, he... he... will... Doctor Gu kidnapped me!"