In the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, there was complete silence.
Only the unlucky Pan'er and Fulu were there. Fulu kept staring at the gold brick floor under his feet, and sat cross-legged on the big kang by the south window, sighing silently.
As for Zong Cong, who was sitting opposite him, the bracelet on his wrist was flapping.
But it was just a crackling sound.
"Why don't you speak?" Zong Cong seemed to have realized it, and looked at Pan'er. Normally, she would have persuaded her a long time ago, but today she was unusually quiet.
Pan'er usually received a lot of convenience from Fulu, so she naturally wanted to be convenient to others at this time. She made a gesture to Fulu to let him back down, and then brought her teacup in front of him.
As for his one, he knocked it down a long time ago.
"What does Your Majesty want to hear from my concubine?"
He frowned and glanced at her. If she usually put the word "chenqie" on it, it meant that she was about to start putting on airs again.
"Usually I don't see you being respectful to me, but now it's my concubine." He gritted his teeth with hatred, and pressed her forehead. Although it wasn't heavy, Pan'er let out a cry of pain while holding her hand.
"It hurts!" With this coquettish voice, it was easy for her to speak. She rolled her eyes and complained: "This is a matter between you and the empress, what do you want me to say? Your empress is talking, you must be unhappy, if you are unhappy, I can get along? If I don’t speak to the empress, what will I do? Put it in other people’s ears, I am the demon who provokes you to have conflicts with the empress concubine."
"If you are angry with her, just be angry. Anyway, I don't care about my business. I'll just watch from the sidelines. It will also prevent the gods from fighting and mortals from suffering. My small body is not enough for one of your fingers." , it’s not enough for the empress to get angry, I’ll just be honest.”
What she said made Zong Cong dumbfounded.
"It's as pitiful as you said? It's not enough for me?"
Pan'er leaned forward and gestured with his finger: "Have you never heard of the emperor laying down millions of corpses in anger? I am the little shrimp among those millions."
"That's not as pitiful as you said, why are you also my noble concubine, why can't you be angry with the queen?"
"That's not what it means, you're more serious than that." She cheated.
Zong Cong snorted, hugged her in his arms, rubbed her shoulder twice with his hand, and patted her again.
Pan'er saw him like this, touched his lapel and said: "Actually, don't get too angry, maybe the Queen Mother didn't take it to heart at all, and so did Aunt Nianci, why did I tell you about this matter? If the Queen Mother and her elders find out, they might have to punish Aunt Nianci."
"Then you mean that Nianci should not tell me anything, and let the queen mother be wronged?"
Pan'er also looked at him, and just said, "Look, look, I said something, it's good to get involved in this matter."
Zong Cong was embarrassed by her look, and hurriedly said: "I didn't mean to blame or anger you." Immediately, he sighed slightly, "My mother's life is very hard, I just don't want her to be a queen mother, and I don't want her to be a queen mother. To be angry with others."
An unfavored queen, surrounded by wolves, and an unreliable husband who wants to abolish her all the time, Zong Cong knows how difficult it is for his mother to be the prince these years. , even more difficult than him, because when he was still young and unable to protect himself, he was all protected by Empress Fu.
Now that he is the emperor, he is like a son who has suddenly become prosperous. He just wants his mother to enjoy the wealth in peace, and his mood is the same.
She understood all these dishes, so she felt that Empress Chen was not very smart.
Empress Chen seemed really bad at trying to please Emperor Jianping. Every time she was asked to do an ordinary thing, it was obviously very simple, and she could screw it up.
Maybe people didn't want to please him at all? After all, Empress Fu is not just an example. As long as she doesn't make mistakes and her natal family is stable enough, even if the emperor doesn't like it, she can't be easily abolished.
If Empress Chen really thought so, she would lack a son to be a prince.
Pan'er thought about it boringly, but she... didn't think too much about it. After all, Zong Cong was still in front of her, and it was rare for him to sigh, so she naturally wanted to comfort him.
"Maybe Your Majesty is thinking too much. Who can give the Empress Dowager an old man? If you really think that the Empress Dowager is unhappy, why not go to Kunning Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager to have dinner? As a parent, if you give her a lot of money, it is better to be under Cheng Huan's knees." It's more considerate."
"Cheng Huan's knee?" Zong Cong repeated.
"Actually, it's just to accompany the meal, talk and so on. The Queen Mother is alone in Kunning Palace. It seems that there are many people in Kunning Palace. They are all court ladies and eunuchs. They must be lonely at ordinary times, right?" Pan Er also knew that Zong Cong would be happy. Whoever's under his knees, he definitely can't do it, so he can only say it in another way.
"Dinner?" He looked out the window, thought for a while and said: "Then go eat, it's getting late, you just go with me."
Pan'er was dragged away by the strong man, so he had to go together.
Maybe because he went to Kunning Palace with a certain purpose, Pan Er could see that Zong Cong was hesitant when he stepped into Kunning Palace.
But at this time, I can only pretend not to see it, so as not to embarrass him.
After entering, seeing Empress Fu's reaction, Pan'er could understand why Zong Cong was embarrassed. Maybe the mother and son really spend very little time together
Hearing that Zong Cong was going to stay for dinner, Empress Dowager Fu probably used all her self-control in her life to keep herself from losing her composure. She hurriedly ordered Nianci to prepare. Although she didn't say anything, she could see that she was surprised. with joy.
But it was only for a while, and soon Empress Dowager Fu returned to her previous demeanor.
She put her gaze on Pan'er for a moment, then said to Zong Cong with a smile: "I didn't expect that the imperial concubine would accompany the emperor to come to this palace to have dinner with me. If I knew this, I would have asked people to prepare dinner in advance." Come on. When people are getting old, they eat simple meals, and they are afraid that the dishes will not suit the emperor's appetite when the time comes."
This is obviously a message, and the object of the message is naturally not Zong Cong, but Pan'er.
It's a pity that Zong Cong, who is usually very shrewd, is like the son of the whole world in front of his mother today. He didn't realize the clues in the words, but thought seriously and answered: "The son can use everything, and the mother doesn't have to worry."
But Pan'er understood, and winked at Cattail, Cattail was busy, and before she could go out, Nian Qiu followed her, and led her out with a smile.
Not long after, the two came back without alarming anyone, as if nothing had happened.
Empress Dowager Fu finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nian Qiu's eyes.
Speaking of which, she also failed as a queen mother. Cong'er was fine when she was young, but as she grew older, others became more and more assertive. In addition, she was busy and he was also busy. She was busy with those concubines and high-ranking concubines. Fighting on Tuesday, he was busy with his studies, he was busy with guarding against his brothers, and he was busy with all kinds of things inward and outward, so the mother and son inevitably became estranged gradually.
Until he got married as an adult, it was not suitable for him to come to Kunning Palace all the time. Even if mother and son met each other, they would mostly talk about business and rarely gossip, let alone eat together in private.
After a long time, as a mother, she didn't know how her son tasted, so she had to ask the concubine beside him for help.
Thinking of the previous alienation towards Pan'er, and how she has never changed her attitude to pay her respects. Although she doesn't talk as much as before, it is still the same day. She will not be overly attentive, but she will not be alienated either. Empress Dowager Fu looks at Pan'er occasionally. His eyes couldn't help becoming complicated.
Born by herself, she still knows his personality well. She found out about Nian Ci's talkativeness before, so she can probably understand why the emperor suddenly came to have dinner with her, and who played a role in it.
Maybe this mother and son are really not good at gossiping about family affairs, and the atmosphere afterwards was somewhat stiff. Empress Dowager Fu could only turn her head and chat with Pan'er. Too embarrassing.
When Nian Ci came to report that the dinner had been delivered, the two women couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, they glanced at the man who didn't show any impatience, but listened to the gossip seriously, and the two exchanged a look that didn't need to be said.
After the eyes met, both of them froze for a moment.
Afterwards, it was time to have dinner. After seeing the dishes on the table, Zong Cong couldn't help feeling a lot of emotion in his heart, thinking... he didn't know what his mother liked to eat or not, but the mother knew what he liked.
In fact, Zong Cong doesn't care much about appetite, he just eats one more bite if he likes it, and one less bite if he doesn't like it, even if there is no dish he likes on the table, he will eat every dish He has a temperament of one or two bites, so it is difficult for people to gain insight into what he likes to eat.
It's not that I've been with him for a long time, and it's hard to find out because of his subtle observation. Pan'er is also blessed by his previous life.
And tonight's meal is not rich. Compared with the imperial meal used by the Empress Dowager Fu and Zong Cong on weekdays, it can't fit on a single table, so I have to use a few pieces to help set it up. It's just ten dishes and two meals. a soup.
Zong Cong didn't realize that the meal arrangement was very familiar, he just thought it was because Empress Dowager Fu said that when people get old, they eat simple dinner. He didn't know that Cattail was clever but stubborn, Nian Qiu asked her what His Majesty likes to eat, and she picked out more than a dozen dishes that Paner usually arranged.
He also specifically told Nian Qiu that Long Live Lord doesn't like ostentation, he just likes something simple.
In fact, Pan'er doesn't like to use a meal to make a bunch of vegetables, and it's a pity to waste it if you can't eat it. And if there are too many dishes, someone needs to serve the meal. Even if she is not used to it after two lifetimes, she needs to be as simple as possible.
Fortunately, Zong Cong's acceptance was quite high, and he never raised any meaning, so it became a convention in her yard.
The meal was extremely quiet, there was not even the sound of bowls and chopsticks colliding, this is probably a common problem in the palace. But they were all very happy, at least before leaving, Pan'er was very happy to see Empress Dowager Fu, and after walking out of Kunning Palace, Zong Cong also seemed very happy.
It was already dark, and Fu Lu led a few eunuchs to follow.
On the way from Kunning Palace to Qianqing Palace, there are palace lanterns hanging on the corridors, but no one needs to light lanterns in front.
Zong Cong walked slowly, as if he was thinking about something, and seemed to be enjoying the refreshing night breeze.
He stopped suddenly, turned his head and saw her smiling.
Dim yellow lights, quiet night, so-called beauties under the lights, beauties under the moon, that's all.
He couldn't help pulling her hand and rubbing it in his hand. There were many things he wanted to say, but he only said one sentence: "I've troubled you."
As smart as Zong Cong, maybe she didn't realize it for a while, but how could she not understand it all the time, she naturally knew how much thought she had put into today's matter.
"In the future, I will try my best to spend more time with my mother, and today I found out that my mother has gray hair."
"You also go more often, I see that the queen mother likes you very much."
"The queen mother has been lonely for too long, and I was negligent. Wanrong and Qian'er are both lively. You bring them more, and let the queen mother enjoy the children and grandchildren Chenghuan..."
He walked all the way, and he spoke all the way, just some small words.
He spoke, she listened, and kept it in her heart.
At that time, the atmosphere was too good to be a disappointment.
Turning around and seeing that Zong Cong actually urged her to bring a few more children to Kunning Palace, she couldn't help feeling a little dizzy.
Don't look at Wanxuan and the others when they were young, she always took her to Kunning Palace. At that time, she wanted to use the child to find a backer for herself, but later it became less. Even if she goes, she rarely takes the children there.
Without him, there were more than these few children in the East Palace. At that time, the backyard of the East Palace finally calmed down. Everyone lived their own lives without interfering with each other. Pan'er knew that a large part of the reason was that they had their own children. After relying on it in the future, naturally there is no need to toss.
But you use your child to compete for favor, what are you trying to do
Originally, she was too popular in the backyard of the East Palace, and any action of hers might arouse the reaction of others. Especially when it comes to children, especially as they grow up.
It's not good for her to say such things in front of Zong Cong. She can only remind him of Wanrong's incident last time. The general meaning is to mention it all the time. It's their business whether to go or not. It's a matter of father's partiality.
Zong Cong also listened to it, and he also mentioned it at the next two family banquets.
He didn't say it clearly, he just said something like filial piety, I don't know if he said it too cryptically, after that Pan'er observed it... and there seemed to be no movement.
During this period, the Dragon Boat Festival passed, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, Empress Dowager Fu finally moved to the palace.