Guarjia knew what he wanted to say, and wiped the glistening sweat from Hongli's forehead and said, "Don't you even believe what kind of person your mother is?"
"Of course not." Hongli hurriedly denied it, but the next moment he lowered his head and said with some sadness: "But if it weren't for this, why would E Niang leave so suddenly? Even I wouldn't tell you; besides, she is Huang Ama's wife.
Concubine, how can you leave the palace at will?"
"I believe your mother-in-law, she will definitely come back, because..." Guarjia smiled lightly, "There are people here that she cares about. So, Hongli must protect himself and wait for your mother-in-law to come back.
.”
Hongli nodded vigorously, "Hongli knows, but Hongli really misses his mother!" As he said this, tears flowed down in front of Guarjia, and he was very sad. He was still just an eleven-year-old boy.
…
Guarjia patted Hongli's back. She didn't know what to say to comfort her for a moment, because she didn't even know where Ling Ruo had gone. She only knew that when she suddenly woke up one day, this man disappeared, and then in the palace
Rumors spread that Concubine Xi and Imperial Physician Xu had an affair, and that the two had arranged to elope, etc. They spread like wildfire.
She and Wen Ruyan were very angry when they heard these rumors and dirty words, but they had no choice but to do so. It was not just one or two people who spread these rumors, but the whole palace. They couldn't bear it anymore and when they mentioned it in front of the Queen, the Queen
He only said one thing: There can be no waves without wind.
Queen Guarjia's intuition was that she knew something about Ling Ruo's disappearance, and was even involved in it, but she was unable to get more precise information.
As for Yinzhen, his attitude towards this matter was also very strange. In the more than a month since Ling Ruo's disappearance, he had neither visited Hongli nor set foot in Chengqian Palace. He actually seemed to have abandoned the place.
The most pitiful person is Hongli. Originally, he was the most favored among the princes. But overnight, first E Niang disappeared inexplicably, and Yinzhen disappeared again. Then there were rumors among those in the palace that
After gossiping, his attitude towards him also changed. He was arrogant and disdainful, but the slave who had some shame dared to look down on him.
Although she and Wen Ruyan defended themselves in every possible way, they could not change the entire situation and could only watch as Hongli became more and more silent day by day.
It's not like they haven't tried to ask Yinzhen about Ling Ruo. That day when they went to Yangxin Hall to pay their respects, Wen Ruyan just mentioned something and Yinzhen threw the tea cup in his hand to the ground, his face was frighteningly gloomy.
From then on, no one dared to mention the name Niu Hulu Lingruo in front of Yinzhen.
"Auntie, it's sunny here and you're not in good health. You should go back first." Hongli cried for a while, stopped his tears and said to Guarjia.
When Guarjia saw that he still cared about her in this situation, the tip of her nose felt sore, and she held back her tears and said: "Then you promise my aunt, if you can't bear it anymore, you will go and admit your mistake to your emperor. Don't
Show off your strength."
After Hongli agreed, Guarjia still felt uneasy after thinking about it, so she left the young eunuch beside her to accompany Hongli, and told him that once the fourth brother was exempted from punishment, he would immediately take him to the Imperial Hospital without delay.
Guarjia left, and Hongli knelt there straight for one hour, two hours, three hours... The sun moved from east to west, setting in the west, dyeing the sky red, as far as the eye could see.
It's all clouds of purple and gold.
Tired birds that had been flying all day returned to their nests under the setting sun. Dragonflies flapped their transparent wings and flew low in the sky. Some of them flew in front of Hongli, so close that they could see the dragonflies' big eyes and circles of patterns on their bodies.
The young eunuch had tried to persuade him countless times, but Hongli ignored his words and continued to kneel to himself, with no intention of admitting his mistake. He thought he was just perfunctory to make Guarjia feel at ease.
Night gradually fell, and the curtains merged, swallowing up the last ray of light in the west. The entire Forbidden City fell into darkness in an instant, but soon a little light came on. This is the palace of each palace and courtyard.
People were holding lamps, and in the long alleys, there were also people who lit street lamps to disperse the darkness shrouding the Forbidden City.
Li Dequan carefully lit the lamp in the Yangxin Hall and was covering it with a cover. Yinzhen, who had just finished approving the papers and was resting on the imperial desk with his eyes closed, suddenly said, "What time is it now?"
Originally, these papers should have been approved a long time ago, but due to the incident between Fu Pei and Hongli, I was in low spirits, and the papers seemed to come slower and slower. It was not until this time that I could finish the review.
"If I return to the emperor, it will be at the end of the Youshi period." Li Dequan replied carefully, "Should we pass on the meal now?"
"Come on, let's make the imperial dining room simpler. Three dishes and one soup are enough." Yinzhen said tiredly. In fact, he had no appetite for anything to eat now, and he only ate to fill his stomach.
Li Dequan stepped back as he was told, and when he came in again, he was followed by several little eunuchs who came in with their heads lowered and holding red lacquered gold trays. They quietly placed the dishes on the long table next to them. Following Yinzhen's instructions, three dishes and one dish were served.
Soup, served with a bowl of rice.
After they retreated, Li Dequan hesitated and called in a low voice: "Your Majesty."
Yinzhen only urged him to eat, and said without opening his eyes: "Let it go for a while, I have no appetite now."
Li Dequan did not become silent because of this, and still said: "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother is still kneeling outside the Yangxin Hall."
Hongli? Yinzhen suddenly opened his eyes. If Li Dequan hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten about it after being busy all afternoon. He raised his head and glanced at the dark night outside the window. According to this calculation, Hongli would have knelt down four times.
How many hours?
"Did he admit his mistake?" Yinzhen asked with a complicated expression.
"No, the fourth elder brother has been kneeling there without saying a word." Li Dequan said with some worry: "Kneel down today without eating or drinking. I am worried that the fourth elder brother will not be able to bear it."
A trace of concern flashed across Yinzhen's eyes, and then he snorted coldly: "Don't pay attention to him. If he likes to kneel, he will continue to kneel until he is willing to admit his mistake."
At first, he just wanted to give him a small punishment, thinking that Hongli would admit his mistake if he knelt for a long time, but he didn't know that he was so stubborn and refused to admit his mistake.
"Yes." Li Dequan responded helplessly. He had tried his best. Even the words he just said were not something he should have mentioned.
At this time, Si Xi hurried in and said in a panic: "Your Majesty, Si'age has fainted outside."
"What?" Yinzhen's expression tightened, and he stood up and was about to walk out. Unexpectedly, he stood up too hastily and his head was dizzy. He quickly held up a table to steady himself.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Li Dequan ran over to help Yinzhen with a nervous look on his face.
It took a while for the dizziness to subside from his head. Yinzhen waved his hand and said, "I'm fine. Please help me to see my fourth brother."
"Hey!" Li Dequan agreed and helped Yinzhen to go out. Sixi took a palace lantern from the hands of the palace attendants outside and led the way.