Nala leaned back and closed his eyes silently, letting Xiao Ningzi hold his feet soaked in hot water for him.
Autumn is getting colder and cooler as the days slowly pass by, especially in the morning and evening. It is already necessary to put on autumn clothes to block the chill. However, the autumn rain that countless people are longing for has not come yet, and there is still a severe drought in Beijing.
On this day, after Ling Ruo had washed herself, she was asking people to take the used water to water the flowers and plants in the courtyard. She saw Wen Ruyan coming over, and there was a charming-looking woman behind her.
Who is Wen Ruqing?
"Sister!" Ling Ruo came forward happily, held Wen Ruyan's slightly cold hands and said, "Sister, you came so early."
"Why don't I come to say hello to you, Concubine Xi, early?" Wen Ruyan said jokingly, and then said to the person behind him: "Ruqing, I haven't met Concubine Xi yet."
"Ruqing greets Concubine Xi, may you be blessed!" Wen Ruqing stepped forward according to the words, her voice was soft and sweet, like a pot of fine rice wine, which made people intoxicated.
"No gift." Ling Ruo looked at Wen Ruqing carefully and smiled and said, "We haven't seen you for a few months, but she has become more and more beautiful. Please sit down."
After everyone sat down, Wen Ruqing glanced curiously at the palace servant who was carrying water to water the flowers and plants and said, "I didn't expect Concubine Xi to save water like this."
Ling Ruo sighed softly and said: "What can I do? There is a severe drought in the capital right now and water is not easy to come by. I will save some if I can. It is not easy to travel hundreds of miles to transport it here. We have already calculated it in the palace.
Well, it’s hard for the people outside to even drink water."
Wen Ruqing was moved by what she said and nodded: "Your Majesty is right. Now in the capital, unless you are able to transport water yourself, each person can only receive one pot of water a day."
"Oh, does this God want to kill people on the road to death?" Speaking of this, Wen Ruyan also frowned, "In the past, I always thought that there was as much water as I wanted, and it was nothing special. I never thought that there was such a thing.
time."
"That's because none of us have ever suffered from drought. Unfortunately, the emperor's two consecutive requests for rain have not worked. Now we can only rely on long-distance transportation of water to alleviate the drought. I don't know when it will end. I heard that because of this water transportation, the national treasury
We have already spent a lot of money, and winter is about to come again. There will be no rice harvest in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing, so we can only rely on rice shipped from the south, but it is not an option to continue like this."
"Oh, I just hope it rains soon, so I don't have to torture the world like this anymore." The atmosphere in the palace became a little heavy because of this topic.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Ling Ruo smiled and said instead: "Seeing Ruqing, I remembered that the show girl selection was about to start this time. There have been a lot of things recently, and I almost forgot about it.
How about it, are you still used to living in Zhongcui Palace?"
"Thank you for your concern, your Majesty. Everything is fine. It's just that the grandma who came to teach me the rules is very strict. If she makes a mistake, she has to learn it all over again." Wen Ruqing stuck out her tongue as she spoke.
Ling Ruo smiled at what she said, "It's all like this, but the ladies are also doing it for your own good. The palace is no better than the outside, and there are no rules that can be wrong. Besides, you are pretty good. I remember that I
When Gong held the draft that year, it happened to be winter, and every time he learned the rules, he had to stand in the ice and snow for a long time, and his body was numb from the cold."
"Have you ever chosen a show before?" Upon hearing this, Wen Ruqing suddenly opened her eyes curiously.
Wen Ruyan scolded her from the side and said, "You are not allowed to be so unruly in front of your Majesty."
"It doesn't matter." Ling Ruo said with a smile, showing a look of recollection, "It was more than twenty years ago. At that time, I was about the same age as you, but I was not able to choose the late emperor at that time.
Instead, she was given to the emperor as a concubine. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed, and I am already old."
"My queen is not old. She looks even younger and more beautiful than the common girls." Wen Ruqing said sweetly.
"You girl are still good at coaxing people." After laughing, Ling Ruo said: "You and your sister will have dinner here at noon. I will ask the small kitchen to cook more good dishes."
When Wen Ruqing heard this, she said with some embarrassment: "I'm afraid I can't accept the good wishes of the empress. Yesterday, Eunuch Fu from Kunning Palace came to Zhongcui Palace to convey the message that the empress will hold a banquet in the imperial garden today and invite all the beautiful ladies to enjoy the chrysanthemums together.
, Counting the time, it’s almost time to pass.”
Ling Ruo raised his long eyebrows slightly, and immediately said with a smile: "In that case, let's change the date. There are always opportunities on the left and right, so hurry up and don't miss the time."
Wen Ruqing glanced at Ru Yan, saw her nodding towards him, and bowed to leave. Looking at her leaving figure, Ling Ruo said slowly: "The beautiful lady has not yet become a palace, but our empress can't wait to win over people's hearts."
.”
Wen Ruyan sneered, raised her handkerchief and said: "She is this kind of person, why is it so strange? Besides, the chess pieces in her hand are dead and useless. She should add a few more, otherwise
How can you harm people?"
Ling Ruo's thoughts were aroused by her words, and she said in a deep voice: "Yes, over the years, the number of people in the palace has left one after another, and now we are the only ones with the most seniority."
Wen Ruyan shook her head and changed the subject: "I have one more thing to discuss with you here. Hanyan is now fifteen, and it's time to get engaged. But the emperor can't be distracted right now, so he wants you to
Help me find out which family in the court has better children. It doesn't matter if the family is less powerful or not, as long as they have good character and moral conduct."
It was about Han Yan, Ling Ruo naturally would not refuse, and thought about it and said: "Let me help you inquire first to see if there are any young talents with outstanding conduct, and then I will talk to him when the emperor is free.
, take your time, you must choose a suitable husband for Hanyan."
"Then this matter will trouble my sister." Wen Ruyan also knew that this matter was related to Han Yan's life's happiness, so she couldn't rush it.
Ling Ruo picked up the celadon tea cup at hand and took a sip: "I ordered Mu Guiying to take command at Changyin Pavilion. Is my sister interested in accompanying me to listen to it?"
"The queen is admiring chrysanthemums in the imperial garden to woo beautiful girls, but you go to listen to a play. Are you really in a leisurely mood and are you not afraid of losing the opportunity?" Wen Ruyan asked with a chuckle.
Ling Ruo smiled nonchalantly and said, "Let her go. Besides, it's hard to control too many chess pieces. The Queen has racked her brains every day in order to control the chess pieces over the years, so why should I join in the fun. Besides,
, the queen’s weakness never lies in these things.”
Just as Wen Ruyan was about to ask what it was, she suddenly remembered something and said, "You are talking about the second elder brother, but the second elder brother has now reconciled with the queen, and it will be difficult to provoke him again."
Ling Ruo's eyes flashed and she said: "The reconciliation is just superficial. The second elder brother still has a grudge in his heart. He only needs a small opportunity to stir it up, and it will be more dangerous than before. My sister forgot to pay it back."
There is one thing that the second elder brother never knew."
"You mean Ye Xiu?" Wen Ruyan had not remembered this name for a long time, so much so that she almost thought that her second elder brother had never had this biological mother.