Xianyue giggled and said, "I'm afraid the emperor won't find this opportunity." Saying this, Xianyue said again: "It's not very late now, why don't I go for a walk with you?"
At this point, she tilted her head and said softly: "It was very interesting to accompany the emperor to enjoy the night snow last time. I wonder if I will have the honor tonight?"
Hongli was made to laugh by her, "It's no problem for Concubine Xian to be so elegant, but it's a pity that it didn't snow tonight, so we won't be able to see the night snow scene." After that, he extended his generous palm to Xianyue.
Xianyue smiled sweetly, her flawless face had a soul-stirring beauty under the candlelight. After telling Zhichun to stew the bird's nest, she raised her hand, put her slender palm in Hongli's palm, and let him lead her as she walked out.
Yanxi Palace.
After walking for a while, Hongli stopped and said, "Is it cold? If it's cold, let's go back."
The night wind in December was far colder than that in November. Although it didn't snow, it felt like my hands and feet were frozen. In such a short time, Xianyue's nose was already red from the cold, but there was a smile on her lips.
But he never stopped and said: "With the Emperor by my side, I will never feel cold."
Hongli laughed loudly and said: "Can I think that you are deliberately trying to please me?"
Xianyue chuckled and said: "I am telling the truth. If the emperor feels that I am flattering you, I can't do anything about it."
"You, you really have run out of things to say." Hongli shook his head with a smile. He himself did not realize that from just now, he had a smile on his face and never stopped.
The walk was quiet and gentle. When the palace people saw them from a distance, they all knelt down silently. They didn't dare to get up until they were very far away.
When he reached the vicinity of the Imperial Garden, Honglixuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Why are the street lights here so dim and can only illuminate half a foot in radius? I remember that this was not the case before, but the palace people were lazy.
Have you ever replenished your lamp oil?"
Xianyue heard the words and said hurriedly: "I asked the palace people to add less, as long as it can be seen, and besides, no one came to the imperial garden at night, so there was no need to illuminate it so brightly. There were everywhere in the palace.
If you want to save money, try to save as much as you can, and there are a lot of things happening in the court recently, so money needs to be used everywhere."
Hongli was very moved by what she said, and sighed: "Isn't it? Forget it in Baoding Prefecture, smallpox has been controlled and has not spread too much. But next, I plan to vigorously promote vaccination to prevent and control smallpox; consider it.
It’s hard for people to live their lives. If we continue to collect money from them because of this,
, it really doesn’t make sense, so I plan to implement it for free, and all the money will be paid by the national treasury. In addition, the Yongding River has not been repaired properly, and Taiwan has to continue to use money. The pressure on the Ministry of Household Affairs is really great, and I will monitor the households.
The minister looks sad every day."
Xianyue said softly: "I can't help the emperor in state affairs, so I can only save money in the palace."
Hongli nodded and said: "I know your good intentions. I just hope that all these disasters can end soon and return the people to a peaceful and prosperous age."
"The emperor loves his people like his sons, and I believe that God will treat the emperor's people kindly." Faced with Xianyue's words, Hongli said nothing, but held his hand tighter.
When they returned to Yanxi Palace, Zhichun had stewed the bird's nest. Xianyue took it and handed it to Hongli personally. As soon as the latter opened the lid, he exclaimed: "Why is it a white swallow, a blood swallow?"
?”
White swallow is also called official swallow, which is more precious than feather swallow, grass swallow and so on. It is considered to be the top grade bird's nest, but it is not the same as blood swallow. As Xianyue, she should take blood swallow, so Hongli
That's why this question arises.
Zhichun said quickly: "If you go back to the emperor, Master, there is no blood swallow here."
"Talk too much." Xianyue turned around and scolded her, saying, "To inform the emperor, I don't like blood swallows, so I asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send some official swallows."
"Really?" Hongli asked dubiously. Before Xianyue could speak, he shook his head and said, "No, I remember that you used to like blood swallows very much. If you don't take blood swallows, how could you do it?"
I don’t like it anymore.” At this point, he put down the cup in his hand and said, “Concubine Xian, tell me the truth about what’s going on.”
Xianyue smiled and said: "What I said is the truth. Yes, I used to like Blood Yan very much, but I don't know what happened. Now I just can't like it. Bai Yan is the most suitable for me. If
If the emperor doesn't like it, I will ask someone to stew the blood swallow, please wait a little longer."
Saying this, she said to Zhichun: "Go and stew another blood swallow immediately."
Zhichun said in embarrassment: "Master, we don't have any blood swallows in the palace, what can I use to stew them?"
When Xianyue was thinking about it, Hongli already said: "Even if you don't like blood swallows, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should send someone to send them."
"This..." Xianyue lowered her head and was speechless. Her appearance undoubtedly made Hongli more suspicious, and asked: "What happened?"
Zhichun was about to speak when Xia Yue secretly pulled her and had to shut up angrily. The little moves between them did not escape Hongli's eyes. He said coldly: "Zhichun, just say what you have to say. Don't worry about your master."
If you blame me, I will make the decision for you."
Zhichun glanced at Xianyue, knelt down and said: "If I go back to the emperor, it's not that the master doesn't like blood swallows at all, but that there are no blood swallows available."
Hongli said in astonishment: "How could this happen? Haven't I and the Queen Mother always supplied blood swallows as usual?"
Zhichun sighed and said: "After the master took over the affairs in the palace, he found that although the blood swallows paid a lot of tribute, there were not many that could be used. It was only enough to ensure the use of the emperor, the queen mother, the empress and Princess Zhaoqing. The master was helpless.
Under this condition, you can only use Baiyan."
The Princess Zhaoqing mentioned by Zhichun refers to Jiarou. She lives with Lingruo in Cining Palace, but Jiarou is gentle and gentle, and due to her congenital deficiencies, she is not in good health and does not come out often.
Hongli frowned and said: "There are quite a few blood swallows who have presented themselves this year. You shouldn't be so nervous, Concubine Xian, what exactly went wrong."
Xianyue avoided his gaze and said: "It's nothing. I use white swallow just the same. Besides, I really think white swallow tastes better than blood swallow. Your Majesty, please stop asking."
Hongli said without any doubt: "No, I must ask clearly about this matter. Where did so many blood swallows go?"
"Yes...yes..." Xia Yue hesitated for a long time and said helplessly: "I won't hide it from the emperor, and I don't know. When I took over the affairs of the palace, there were only a few blood swallows left. At that time, I
Although I thought it was a bit strange, I thought it was not a big deal after all, so I didn’t report it to the emperor."