"I know that you have been missing Yongxuan very much these days, and I am just like you. Every time I think of Yongxuan's voice and smile, my heart feels like a knife. But Qing'er, do you think Yongxuan would want to see you?
Are we like this?"
Xia Qing said with tears in her eyes: "I want to let go and be happy, but... I can't do it."
"Even if you can't do it, you have to do it, otherwise no matter how many rituals you do or how much paper money you burn, Yongxuan will never be able to truly rest in peace." While Hongli was speaking, Xiaowu presented the wolf-hair pen, and Hongli handed it to Xia Qing.
On his hand, "Write down everything you want to say to Yongxuan, but you must promise me that after tonight, you will not trap yourself in the siege again." He raised his hand and stroked Xia Qing's cheek, and said warmly: "Is that okay?
?”
Xia Qing raised her eyes that were blurred by the water and cried: "Yongxuan...can he see it?"
Hongli looked up at the starry sky and said with all his strength: "I believe that the Kongming Lantern will definitely fly in front of him!"
Xia Qing took the pen from his hand tremblingly, and turned the sorrow and longing accumulated in her heart into words one after another on the Kongming Lantern. Only when all the blank spaces were filled, did she stop writing, and then joined Hongli
Put the Kongming Lantern in the night sky.
It wasn't until the sky lantern flew out of sight that Xia Qing withdrew his gaze and said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for everything you have done for me. I promise you that you will not be trapped in the same place again, because... I still have you."
Hongli hugged her happily and said: "You not only have me, but also Hejia. When she grows up, I will definitely find her a good marriage so that she will have no worries in her life."
"Yeah." In a place that Hongli didn't see, a cold light flickered in Xia Qing's eyes. A mere sky lantern asked her to put down all her resentment. Ha, it's really ridiculous.
She vows not to be a human being unless she avenge Yongxuan!
After being gentle for a while, Xia Qing said: "I have something to ask of the Emperor."
Hongli held her hand and walked to Yonghe Palace, saying, "What's the matter?"
Xia Qing whispered: "I saw Huang Ying a few days ago. He was carrying water to fill the copper tanks everywhere."
Hongli said casually: "So what?"
Xia Qing stopped and said: "I know that Huang Ying once made a big mistake, but no one is a saint, and no one can make mistakes. I can see that Huang Ying has made a mistake, so please give him another chance."
Hongli looked past the surrounding darkness and landed on Xia Qing, "Why did you think of interceding for him? Don't you hate anyone related to Wei Jingxuan?"
Xia Qing sighed softly and said: "I wonder if it is because I have read too many Buddhist scriptures recently. I now despise people's suffering more and more. This is the case for Dai Jia and the same for Huang Ying. The emperor did not see his appearance at that time.
His hair was disheveled and he was staggering. He was obviously too tired to walk, but he still had to carry a bucket full of water. He said that Manager Zhao, who was cleaning the office, assigned him to do the most difficult and tiring work every day.
He was not allowed to sleep at night, and if there was not enough water in the copper vat, he was forced to fetch water to fill the vat alone."
There happened to be a copper vat near them. Xia Qing pointed with her slender hand and said, "Look, it's such a big one. It would take dozens of buckets of water to make it. Didn't Manager Zhao mean to embarrass him? And because he was the emperor himself.
No one who was sent to the cleaning office dared to plead for him in front of Manager Zhao; I feel that if this continues, he will die of exhaustion."
Hongli was not moved by her words, and said indifferently: "If he had not been greedy and took advantage of Wei Jingxuan, he would not have suffered today's disaster. In the final analysis, he was responsible for all this."
"He did this for the sake of his family outside the palace. If not righteous, at least it was sentimental. A prodigal son will never be replaced by gold. He has learned a lesson once and believes that he will not dare to do it again in the future!" Seeing that Hongli remained silent, she added: "And it is yellow.
After all, Ying has served the emperor for several years, does the emperor really want to watch him be tortured to death?"
Hongli spit out eight words from his lips and teeth, "Once you are unfaithful, you will be disloyal a hundred times!"
Xia Qing frowned slightly. She didn't expect Hongli's attitude to be so firm. It seemed that this matter was more difficult than she thought. Just when she was thinking about how to speak, Xiaowu suddenly walked up and knelt in front of Hongli with a "plop"
, "Your Majesty, Huang Ying is the apprentice of the slave. The reason why he was confused and did wrong things is because the slave did not teach him well. The slave is the one who deserves the punishment the most!"
Although he had a big quarrel with Huang Ying at the beginning, and even said that he would never care about Huang Ying's affairs in the future, he still thought about the friendship between master and apprentice and could not let go. It was just that he could never find a suitable opportunity.
; Now I heard Xia Qing begging for mercy, and I quickly took the opportunity to beg.
Hongli lowered his head and sneered: "Why, you want to go to the cleaning department too?"
Xiao Wu hurriedly said: "Since I followed my master to the Yangxin Hall to serve the emperor, I have told myself in my heart that I will serve the emperor all my life, but..." He said in a solemn voice: "No matter what, Huang Ying is the slave.
The apprentice who came out, I really can’t bear to see him being enslaved to death in the cleaning area, please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!”
Xia Qing lowered her eyes and said, "Your Majesty said, 'Once you are unfaithful, you will not be disloyal a hundred times.' I forgive you and I do not agree."
"Why?" Faced with Hongli's inquiry, Xia Qing slowly said: "I feel that people who have made mistakes and been punished will know how to cherish and be grateful more than others. The fifth father-in-law is the best example."
Xiao Wu nodded repeatedly, "What the Imperial Concubine said is true. I made a big mistake back then. Thanks to the Emperor for not abandoning me, I allowed you to continue serving in the Yangxin Palace. I was extremely grateful. I swore at that time that I would never do this in my life."
If you do anything to disgrace your Majesty again, you will be forced to be a eunuch for the rest of your life."
Hongli said calmly: "Huang Ying is not Xiao Wu."
"People's hearts are made of flesh. Although Huang Ying was tortured in the cleaning office, he still thought about his family members far away from the palace. He would send the monthly money out every month. Only because of this
, which shows that he is a man of great affection. If the emperor spares him today, I believe that in the next few years or decades, he will remember the emperor's grace, and from then on he will be devoted to the emperor and will not dare to have any second thoughts." Pause for a moment.
, she added: "Furthermore, if I can tell you the truth, can the emperor guarantee that the palace servants in Yangxin Palace will be more loyal than Huang Ying?"
Hongli pondered for a moment, then raised his eyes and said, "According to the wishes of the noble concubine, Huang Ying should be allowed to return to Yangxin Hall?"
Xia Qing bowed and said: "I can go back anywhere, I just want the emperor to let him live!" After she finished speaking, Xiao Wu also begged again and again.
Hongli stared silently at the night as thick as ink for a long time, and then he said: "For the sake of the noble concubine, I will spare him once and let him go to work in the Eagle Room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs tomorrow!"