Ning secretly gritted her teeth and said helplessly: "When I go back, I will ask them not to sprinkle water, so as not to waste the precious water."
"This matter is only temporary. When the rain falls from the sky and relieves the drought in various places, everything will return to normal." Xianyue knew that she was unwilling to do so, but there were not so many things in the world that she was willing to do. As long as Ning was willing to follow her,
Just do what she says.
"Yes." Mrs. Ning responded with a smile on her face, but she kept cursing secretly in her heart. She was as worried as usual. She said it so nicely. By that time, the weather would be cold, so what else would she sprinkle with water?
Ning was unhappy and naturally did not want to talk to Xianyue. She casually exchanged a few words and left Kunning Palace. After seeing her off, Qi Kuan said with some worry: "Looking at Concubine Shen, I'm afraid it's...
I am dissatisfied with my master."
Xianyue stroked the apricot-colored silk ribbon under the fan handle and said: "There is nothing we can do about this. Since I know about it, I can't let her waste it. In addition, I will pass on my decree to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From today on,
In every application in the palace, water should be saved as much as possible and no waste should be wasted."
Qi Kuan said in embarrassment: "For a long time, not to mention the master in the palace, even the slaves use water as they please. They have long been accustomed to that usage. Now that the order is suddenly passed down, I'm afraid they will all do the same.
Concubine Shen is so resentful towards the master, which is not a good thing for the master."
Xianyue said nonchalantly: "If they want to complain, let them complain. Not to mention in the palace, even in the world, there is no one who is immune to complaints."
"But..." before Qi Kuan could continue, Xianyue already said: "In short, saving water is the most important thing now. Maybe for the entire drought, what we have done is only a drop in the bucket and can't change anything, but it is better than nothing."
Don’t do it.”
Qi Kuan knew that he could not persuade her, so he could only sigh and said: "Yes, I will go down and convey the master's will."
Xianyue's decree caused quite a stir in the palace. The word "saving water" is really not an easy task for those masters and slaves who are used to using the most common thing like water, and many of them
People like the Ning family think that the life and death of ordinary people are too far away from them and have nothing to do with them. Why should they save water for their life and death? Of course, there are also some people who understand the pain of Xianyue.
In their hearts, they know that everything they have now is based on the people. If the people have troubles, they will not be well; but... there are too few such people; so although everyone in the palace dare not speak on the surface, they often complain in private.
, especially Ning, who was summoned by Xianyue to give him a lesson. He was full of complaints and almost talked about each other, making himself extremely miserable. Xianyue became the domineering person.
These words naturally reached Xianyue's ears, but she knew in her heart that this was inevitable. As long as she thought it was what she should do, there was no need to care about the rest.
On this day, she went to Cining Palace to pay her respects. Since last year, Ling Ruo had not been in good health and mentally weak. She rarely took care of the affairs of the palace. Although Zhou Minghua took care of her body, the effect was always minimal.
When Xianyue arrived at Cining Palace, it was still early and Ling Ruo had not yet finished worshiping the Buddha. No matter how ill she was, as long as she was awake, Yinshi would go to the Buddhist hall to chant sutras without interruption.
"My Lady, please sit down for a while. After the Empress Dowager has finished bowing to the Buddha, I will go and report." Yang Hai said as he served the honey jasmine tea specially brewed for Xianyue. Now he has gray hair on his temples, but fortunately his body is still strong.
.Hong Linian served Ling Ruo for many years and rewarded him with a house and
He was paid monthly according to the salary of a seventh-grade official so that he could spend his old age in peace. However, Yang Hai said that he had served Ling Ruo all his life and wanted to continue to serve him as long as he could still work. Besides, there was no one around Ling Ruo.
Inseparable from people, the new palace attendants are never as easy to use as the original ones.
"Thank you, Mr. Yang." Xianyue said politely. After Yang Hai went down, she looked at the Boshan silver furnace placed on the long table. wisps of light smoke continued to rise from the holes and filled the air.
This is where the sandalwood scent comes from.
She remembered that almost every time she came to Cining Palace, she could smell the smell of sandalwood. It seemed that since the death of the late emperor, the Queen Mother had been particularly fond of sandalwood, so whenever good sandalwood came to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Hongli would let the emperor
Send it to Cining Palace.
Speaking of the late emperor, she remembered that when the late emperor was in power, the capital had also encountered a drought. The Queen Mother, who was in charge of the harem at that time, and the late emperor worked together to overcome the difficulties. As for what the solution was, she had never heard of it.
Everyone said that the late emperor loved the Queen Mother so much that he made her the Queen Mother after she was still in power. After Prince Li welcomed the Queen Mother back from Junggar, he ignored everyone's objections and made her the Queen Mother.
Noble concubine; the late emperor passed the throne to Hongli, partly because of the Queen Mother. In order to let Hongli have no worries after he ascended the throne, he personally executed Hongshi, and he did not hesitate to bear the infamy of parricide.
After the late emperor left, the one who was most saddened was the empress dowager. If the late emperor had not left a will not to allow the empress dowager to commit suicide and be buried, the empress dowager would probably be no longer alive now.
Xianyue was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when Ling Ruo came in. It wasn't until she heard a cough that she came back to her senses. Seeing Ling Ruo already sitting on the table, she quickly stood up holding Jin Ping's hand and bent down awkwardly.
He bowed and said, "My son, please give your regards to the Emperor's mother. May the Emperor's mother be blessed."
Ling Ruo covered her lips and coughed, then said: "Sit down, you are heavy, there is no point in coming to pay respects to the Ai family, the baby is important."
Xianyue said with a smile: "My son can still walk. Besides, the imperial doctor of Song Dynasty said that it is not good to stay in the house all the time."
"Just be sensible." After saying this, Ling Ruo coughed violently. Shuixiu quickly stroked her back and took another sip of tea to calm her breath.
Xianyue asked with concern: "Has the Queen's mother coughed badly recently?"
Ling Ruo waved her hands and said, "It's okay. It's an old habit. It's like this. The older this person gets, the less useful he becomes." After a pause, she said, "I saw you so absorbed just now. What were you thinking about?"
Xianyue quickly replied: "Returning to Huang's mother-in-law, I just suddenly remembered that Huang Ama also encountered a severe drought when he was alive, which was similar to today."
Ling Ruo was startled, and then his eyebrows were stained with a look of regret, and he said slowly: "Yes, just like now, the late emperor also had a hard time during the severe drought. The Aijia still remember that the late emperor tried to divert water
, tried their best, and then the Aijia thought they could save some water, so they withdrew the ice used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that they could turn water into water to relieve the victims."
Ling Ruo's words made Xianyue's eyes light up, "Why didn't I think that, yes, that ice is also water, and it can also quench the thirst of the people affected by the disaster?"
Ling Ruo smiled slightly and said with a hint of approval: "The Ai family has heard about your edict to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a queen, you should have such benevolence and courage."