While they were talking, Xuan Ling stepped in and said with a smile: "What kind of child is not a child?"
I was about to stand up to say hello, but Xuan Ling held me down and said, "These false etiquettes are happening again. Devouring Novel www."
I smiled sweetly and said, "I am saying that my feet are a little swollen and I feel uncomfortable wearing the shoes sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I am afraid that the child in my belly will also feel uncomfortable."
Xuan Ling took off the Baoxiang pattern cloud-head brocade shoes from my feet and said with a smile: "Wear more casually in your own room." He helped my feet up and picked up a pair of scarlet-faced soft-soled sleeping shoes from under the couch.
The shoes were put on for me, and I smiled, "How can I ask the emperor to do such a thing? How could Huanbi just sit there and watch it happen?" But my body remained motionless.
Xuan Ling pinched my face and said with a smile: "Look at how pretentious you are, and you're talking about Huanbi."
Huanbi curled her lips and couldn't hold back her smile and said, "The emperor and the young lady are flirting, so what are they doing with a slave?"
Xuan Ling was in a happy mood. He casually took off a jade ring and threw it into Huanbi's hand. He clasped his hands and laughed: "I have been trained by your master to become more and more talkative - young couple? Well said, I like it."
Huanbi hurriedly bowed and thanked her, "My servant, thank you for your reward." After saying this, he knew what was going on and turned around to go out.
Xuan Ling and I were lying side by side, "I heard that you went to Yuzhao Palace today? There is no taboo on what to do there in such a bright sun. It's even worse if you get caught in the heat."
I chuckled and said: "I am not the empress of the Lord Yue, so I am afraid of the taboo of Wei Yue Yan Chong Yue." I lay on Xuan Ling's arm, twisting my belt and whispered: "I am just pushing myself and others.
Xu Jieyu is pregnant just like I am. I am sitting peacefully in Rouyi Palace, but she is grounded and sad. Thinking about it, I can't bear it."
Xuan Ling stroked my hand and said: "When the concubines in the palace saw her, they all tried to avoid her. You are the only one who dared to break in."
I tilted my head, covered my lips and said with a smile: "Sister Xu is young and pregnant, so she is naturally the one who is dear to the emperor's heart. I am just here to see her on behalf of the emperor. I say it is a courtesy."
I went to see you at the emperor's request, so that Sister Xu can feel at ease and give birth to a plump and fair prince for the emperor." I picked up a cherry and put it in Xuan Ling's mouth, and said seriously: "To be honest, your Majesty.
Do you really not care about Sister Xu?"
Xuan Ling put his arms around my shoulders, with a smile in his eyes, "I always say that you are considerate, so I will tell you the truth. Yan Yi has been in the palace for four years, and I really don't have much affection for her.
If you say you care about her, it would be better to say you care about your children."
I was silent for a moment, and even though I felt cold, I understood the truth, so I said: "No matter what the reason is, I am just conveying my thoughts to the emperor." After saying that, I also felt depressed, and just turned around and looked at the window lattice.
The carvings are fascinating.
Xuan Ling pulled me over and said, "I know you are over-thinking. How can you and Yan Yi be compared? What kind of relationship do I have with you? Now that you are pregnant with a child, I regard you as a child."
Same weight."
I chuckled, raised my fan and patted it, "The emperor always makes people happy with sweet words like this." I concentrated slightly, "Qin Tianjian said that the star sign is Wei Yue Yan Chong Yue, the emperor can't help but worry about it.
The Queen Mother and the Empress, but if they are waiting for the Queen Mother and the Empress to be safe, the Emperor should also think about grounding Xu Jieyu. I see that she does not look good, and I am afraid that she may be hurting her body by thinking too much."
When Xuan Ling heard this, he couldn't help but said with a look: "A bunch of stupid things! Even though she is grounded, I don't want her to be missing anything. The imperial doctor is also watching her every day. Why is it still like this?"
I said softly: "The imperial doctor can cure the disease but not the heart. My daughter's family needs the emperor to be more considerate. Besides, Xu Jieyu is pregnant."
Xuan Ling lay on his arms with his eyes closed, and said: "Why don't I want to be more considerate to her, but she is always quiet when I see her. At first, I thought she was gentle and quiet, but after a while, I also found her boring. Talking about her
She is Wenjing, but she is too much. She also reads a lot of poetry and books, so why is she not as good at understanding language as you are."
I said with a smile: "Xu Jieyu has Xu Jieyu's benefits. The emperor has known it for a long time. Now it is more important to give Xu Jieyu a baby." I thought about it and said: "I will give it to Xu Jie when I go there today."
I brought something, saying it was picked by the emperor, and I was very happy to see Jieyu. Now that she is grounded, although it is not convenient for the emperor to see her, it would be good to reward her with something."
Xuan Ling looked at me gently and said with a smile: "You like her very much?"
I held my Liuling gauze fan, and the fine and clean surface of the fan reflected my He Jing's smile, "I've only met her once, and I can't say whether I like her or not. It's just that Xu Jieyu has a quiet temperament, and she and my concubine are both pregnant, so it's inevitable
Be more relatable."
Xuan Ling thought about it and said, "It's as you wish." Then he called Li Chang, "Tell Xiao You to pack some of Xu Jieyu's favorite food and send them to her, and send more to Yuzhao Palace on weekdays."
Li Chang responded and went, and I raised my voice and called Jin Xi: "Go get the ice bowl."
Xuan Ling hugged me and said with a smile: "My concubine Wan is really stingy. I have been here for a long time, and then she remembered to give me a bowl of ice to cool off the heat."
I flapped my fan and said with a smile: "I am so happy, the emperor actually said this to me. Just now the emperor came in sweating profusely. If he drinks a cold bowl of ice, it will be cool even if it is cool, but he will also have a stomachache.
That’s why the emperor had to talk for a while before he called me into the ice bowl.”
Xuan Ling scooped up a mouthful of ice bowl and held it in his mouth. He looked at me sideways and said, "The ice bowl here is always sweeter than others."
I curled my lips and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is just sweet-hearted. Why do you have to praise the ice bowl? It's just a common thing."
"The word "precious" means being at home. If you are too solemn, you will not look like a family." Xuan Ling flipped through his clothes casually, leaned close to my ear and whispered: "I will stay in Rouyi Hall tonight, waiting for more sweetness.
of."
My face turned red, and I spat: "In broad daylight, the emperor likes to make fun of me." I looked seriously, "Has the emperor forgotten the doctor's instructions? My concubine's fetus was unstable and she had to rest. I'm sorry.
I cannot serve the Emperor." I saw Xuan Ling look slightly depressed, shook his hand and said, "Your Majesty, you must be a good father."
Xuan Ling caressed my cheek and said sympathetically: "Take good care of me." After that, he buttoned three buttons on the window lattice.
Clicking the fingers three times means "turning the sign." The person who came in was Xu Jinliang, the chief eunuch of the Jingshi Room. He was holding a gilt Yunlong tray covered with crimson satin, with dozens of cypress green heads and waists placed on it.
Xuan Ling turned over the sign for "Fu Concubine" and said with a smile, "I haven't seen her for a long time. I'll have dinner with you before I go."
I smiled like a spring flower and said softly: "Okay."
After sending Xuan Ling out after dinner, I raised my face and motioned to Jinxi to invite Chang Li to come over.
Sure enough, about half an hour later, Li Chang came in and said respectfully: "What are your orders?"
I picked up a piece of gold-flavored elixir and ate it. Fang smiled and said, "Show me your seat for Eunuch Li."
Li Chang hurriedly said "I don't dare", and then said: "The emperor has rested in the palace of the concubine Fu, and then the servant can come over. Please forgive me."
I smiled and said, "How can I not be considerate of my father-in-law's difficulties? It would be great if my father-in-law could take the time to come over." I added, "This golden incense medicine is well made. I will give Eunuch Li a plate to try something new." I saw him sitting down.
, Fang Han said with a smile: "It's nothing important. I just want to ask my father-in-law about Xu Jieyu."
Li Chang smiled so much that he narrowed his eyes, "Little Master Jieyu is also blessed, having a dragon fetus. But how can her luck be compared with that of the Empress?"
It was just an ordinary flattery, but it had the shrewdness and reserve of an old palace official. I lowered my head and smiled, "If you have something to say, you might as well say it directly, why bother playing riddles with me." Then I turned around and told Hua Yi, "Eunuch,
I was running all the way, so I thought I hadn’t eaten yet, so I went to ask the kitchen to order fish noodles.”
To make fish noodles, you need to boil the herring from Yunmengze, remove the bones, remove the skin and leave the meat, chop it into puree, knead it thoroughly in flour, cut it into noodles and cook it, and then pour it with clear chicken soup. It is a very troublesome dish. I
To put it this way, I want to leave Li Chang to talk in detail.
Li Chang naturally understood and said with a smile: "I'm asking you to worry about it again." He moved the small spoon and sat down in front of me and said: "In fact, little master Jieyu is not very fond of me. This empress only sees the stalls in the honorary room.
I understand. If you say you love and care for me during the few years you have been in the palace, you really don’t have much love."
I pointed to the golden scented elixir on the table and said to Xiao Yunzi: "I'm done eating cotton wool, let's go get some sour ginger smell." Just then I slowly expressed my question: "Although Xu Jieyu is not the most powerful woman in the country,
But it is also eye-catching, at least as good as Cao Qinmo who died in the past. He is also quite talented in chanting poems. I see that I can write poems and write poems correctly, and I am also very attentive to the emperor. How come the emperor doesn't love her so much?"
Li Changdan sighed and said: "No matter how hard you try, what can you do if the emperor can't see it? Xu Jieyu specializes in weaving and embroidery, and has made many clothes and shoes for the emperor. To be honest, there are embroidery workers like An Guifei.
Now, almost nothing has been delivered to the emperor over the years. Even if there are one or two, no one pays attention to take care of them, but they are no longer found in the blink of an eye. When Xu Jieyu first entered the palace, she was just a talented person, and the emperor favored her.
After returning, she was admitted to the noble family without even being given a title. She was forgotten about this for more than a year. Later, the emperor became seriously ill due to the Five Stones Incident. Xu Jieyu was still graceful and knelt in the Tongming Hall to pray for the emperor all day and night.
Praying for blessings, everyone is extremely exhausted, but if the person who knows and can make the decision doesn't report it, how will the emperor know?"
"Those who know the truth and can make the decision..." I pondered slightly.
Li Chang said calmly: "The queen was busy worrying about the emperor... Later, when the queen mother was happy for the emperor's recovery, Concubine Jing and concubine Hui mentioned it politely, and the queen mother called Rong Hua. Later, the emperor listened vaguely
I have said that I feel pity for Xu Jieyu. Although I often go to Kongcuitang to sit and sit, my favor is intermittent, and this dragon fetus is also a coincidence."
I sighed softly and said slowly: "It's not easy for her either. I went to see her today. I'm afraid she's worried about the grounding and she doesn't look good."
The wrinkles on Li Chang's face have become shaped like smiling over the years, and he is always smiling and his true expression cannot be seen clearly, "That's why I said that Xu Jieyu's good fortune cannot match the empress's richness."
I laughed: "I don't know whether it is heavy or not, but if my father-in-law helps me, it will definitely not be too thin."
After finishing speaking, Jin Xi came up and said: "The fish noodles are ready."
I glanced at Jin Xi and said to Li Chang, "I am also tired. Father-in-law, please go outside and have a bowl of noodles."
Jinxi nodded and said, "My queen, please rest. I will just accompany my father-in-law."
I smiled and said, "That's fine, you haven't seen each other for a few days, so naturally you have a lot of things to say, so go ahead."
Li Chang was about to resign when he suddenly saw his apprentice Xiao Xiazi coming in with a salute, calling out in a low voice, "Master--" and stood there with his hands down.
Because today was Xiaoshazi's night for Xuan Ling, Li Changwei frowned and scolded: "What's so sneaky? There's nothing you can say in front of your Majesty."
Xiaoxiazi glanced at me, lowered his head hurriedly, and said: "The emperor was resting at the concubine Fu's place, but unexpectedly there was a commotion at the concubine Xiang's place, saying that concubine Xiang had nightmares due to the negative energy, so she invited the emperor to come over.
.”
Li Chang smiled bitterly and said: "It's been years and it's still like this."
Concubine Fu, Concubine Xiang, Concubine Qi and the deceased concubine Rui, all of whom had contributed to the pacification of King Runan, entered the palace as nobles on the same day and all lived in the former Mixiu Palace of Concubine Hua. Since concubine Rui committed suicide, concubine Qi
After the concubines moved out, only Concubine Xiang and Concubine Fu still lived in Mixiu Palace. Concubine Xiang had a flamboyant temperament, and because concubine Fu was honest and honest, she could not compete with others for favor, but she dared to steal concubine Fu's favor. Every time
When Xuan Ling stayed in Concubine Fu's dormitory, she tried her best to invite the emperor away. However, she was more beautiful and smarter than Concubine Fu, so Xuan Ling inevitably favored her.
I lowered my eyes and said, "I was like this before I left the palace. Why hasn't my temper changed at all over the years?"
Li Changdao: "It's also that the little mistress of the Fu concubine is too honest. Even though she lives in the same palace, she refuses to break up with her, and she even refuses to tell outsiders about her sufferings. She has allowed the mistress of the concubine Xiang to do whatever she wants for these years."
I bowed my head with my hand and said firmly, "Don't you care about the queen and the concubine?"
Li Chang lowered his head and said: "Ms. Jing Fei... In fact, Jing Fei has only had the name of co-manager of the Sixth Palace in these years, and she has nothing to say. And the Queen... is just two concubines who are not very favored, making trouble.
A few words of mild reprimand will suffice."
A line of gardenias in the Nuan Pavilion exuded a faint fragrance. After smelling it for a long time, the fragrance seemed to be inseparable from the tip of my nose. I said in disgust: "The arrogance of the Xiang concubine is really intolerable. I don't have the power to co-manage the Sixth Palace. Naturally, I can't.
However, I don’t want to stand by and watch the joke." I turned to Li Chang and told Li Chang, "Since the concubine Xiang is talking about nightmares, I will reward her with a pot of brown rice and pearl soup. Remember to take a pot as big as five sea bowls."
Pearls are ordinary barley kernels, that's all. Brown rice is rice that has not been carefully cleaned after shelling. It has a coarse texture and a dense texture. It takes time to cook, and even if it is cooked, it is difficult to swallow.
Li Changzhang couldn't help but laugh and said: "Your Majesty's idea is good. It can kill Xiang's arrogance and make it difficult for others to make mistakes."
Jin Xi pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Xiangbi's nightmare is important, there is no need to cook it, just take it away when it's gone."
I was very disdainful, "The emperor must still be with her, Li Chang, take it personally. She dare not not drink it in front of the emperor. Isn't this a nightmare? Just let her drink a pot, and don't drink it all."
Li Chang hurriedly bowed and went out.
Jin Xi poured me new tea with a smile and said: "My Majesty, it is very satisfying to do this, but why would I be so angry with Concubine Xiang? In the past, I would have laughed it off."
I smiled slightly and said, "Just watch, I have my own reasons."
On the second day, everyone in the palace knew that I gave Concubine Xiang a pot of brown rice and pearl soup to explain her nightmare. She drank so much that she vomited and could not get out of bed. Xuan Ling was not angry when he came to see me, he just laughed.
"Why are you so angry with Xiangbi? She has such a temperament. Although she is superficial and arrogant, she is cute."
I was dressing up in the mirror, and only saw a few strands of hair being twisted left and right by Huan Bi in his hand, moving as if alive. Shi Shiran said: "Does the emperor want the harem to be full of overt and covert fights in the future, or does he want a concubine?"
Even a good-tempered person can only be happy after being wronged?"
Xuan Ling held my shoulders and smiled and said: "Although I felt wronged, I didn't say anything. Besides, how can these things be considered open and covert fights? Huan Huan, you are exaggerating."
I looked at Huanbi combing into a snake bun, tightening all the broken hair with jasmine water, and buried a few jasmine flowers in the hair, only smelling the fragrance but not seeing the shape, and embedded a huge shining flower at the mouth of the snake.
The pearl, with no unnecessary decorations, was clean and refreshing. I said seriously: "Don't you, Your Majesty, hear that the embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in an ant nest? The Emperor thought that he only indulged Xiang's concubine a few times, but he didn't expect that everyone in the harem would follow suit in the future. Fu's concubine
The first-class concubines will inevitably become resentful over time, while the likes of the auspicious concubines will rely on favors and become arrogant. If one palace is not peaceful, the harem will be restless. If it goes on for a long time, it will be a big disaster." I saw Xuan Ling thinking deeply and said again.
: "Furthermore, the emperor obviously turned over the name of Concubine Fu, but Concubine Xiang was making a show of it. If she really had a nightmare, she would ask the doctor to treat her. She has to work like this. The emperor has to go to court early every day, wouldn't it mean that even the government is also affected by Xiang?
The concubine is wrong. If the Queen Mother finds out, she will blame the Emperor for not knowing how to take care of himself and causing trouble again."
Xuan Ling was thoughtful, with a hint of smile, and said: "I indulged Xiangbi's temperament for a while, and I ended up with all these bad things."
I smiled and said, "It's your fault, it's your fault. It's Xiang Concubine who is too willful." I sighed and said, "After all, Xiang Concubine has been in the palace for so many years, and she is still so ignorant. It's really helpless.
Although I gave her a little warning, I don't know if she can take it as a warning."
Xuan Ling pondered for a while and said: "As you said, I should give a little punishment to the Xiang concubine, and also comfort the Fu concubine." He took my hand and praised: "Huan Huan's trip was very generous.
." So he immediately ordered the Xiang concubine to stop her salary for half a year, and gave the blessed concubine many things to express her comfort.
As soon as this incident came out, the atmosphere in the harem immediately improved. Very few concubines dared to be arrogant and act coquettishly. Even Meizhuang smiled when he came to see me, "The Queen Mother is very pleased to know that, and she can't stop praising you."
.”
I smiled calmly and said, "The Queen Mother also knows?"
Mei Zhuang said: "Is there anyone in the palace who doesn't know this? Concubine Wan is so powerful that she suppressed the competition for favors in the harem at once. The queen mother was still doubtful about you, but now she is at ease."
Already."
I tilted my head and said, "How do you know that I am in trouble? If you don't use Xiang's concubine as an example, the Queen Mother will inevitably have doubts about me. She is afraid that I am charming and will seduce the Lord. Now that I have made it known, some people will hate me."
A thorn in the side.”
Meizhuang stared for a moment and said, "The most important thing is to please the Queen Mother."
I held back the smile that was about to rise at the corner of my mouth and said calmly: "In the eyes of the Queen Mother, these are just trivial skills of mine. They have never been put on the stage. What's more, how can I suppress the strife in the harem? I can only restrain myself."
." However, what I really care about is the attitude of the Queen Mother. The first thing about the Xiang concubine thing is to suppress the strife in the harem, so that the concubines will have a sense of awe and not dare to make mistakes easily; secondly, as Meizhuang said, there is no such thing as
After overcoming the Queen Mother's doubts, I truly felt like a fish freed from restraints and truly consolidated my position.
Thinking of this section, I took a sip of tea and smiled slightly.
For several days after that, Concubine Xiang was like a mouse seeing a cat when she saw me. She avoided me whenever she could and tried not to meet me. If she couldn't avoid it, she just stayed away from me and raised her head as if she hadn't seen me.
Of course, she was not afraid of me just because of the brown rice and pearl soup. On the second day of the new year, because I forced her to drink the brown rice and pearl soup, she complained a lot behind her back.
That day, Jinxi and Hua Yi happened to accompany me from Yongxiang to Yunzhao Hall, where the imperial concubines were worshiped. Yongxiang was home to many disgraced concubines and frustrated palace ladies, so it was cold and lonely, and many houses were often vacant.
Hua Yi walked halfway and hurriedly relieved himself. Returning to Rouyi Hall and Yunzhao Hall were far away, so he decided to find a convenient place in an empty house in Yongxiang.
However, she didn't come out for a long time, and Jin Xi and I were anxious, so we walked in the direction where she was going, only to see Hua Yi standing under a wall with her arms folded, frowning and listening silently.
I was curious for a moment, so I walked over. After being in the palace for a long time, you will find that listening to the wall is actually a good pastime. Especially for people like me who have been away from the palace for a long time, there are many things that cannot be said openly.
, you can get secret information from countless nooks and crannies. Because in the huge silent palace, there is never a lack of rumors or complaints. You can hear the maids complaining to each other, complaining about heaven and earth, complaining about their master, complaining about each other, and complaining about each other.
The favor of fate never befalls them; you can also hear the whispers of the eunuchs, it is the concubine that the emperor favors today, and how many rewards he has received today, that is the most important thing; you can also hear
The low-pitched and passionate intimacy between the young eunuch and his beloved palace maid, and the heart-wrenching curses and pleas of a frustrated concubine. You can stand in a seemingly deserted corner for a day, and then become familiar with many things in the palace that originally seemed
Hidden story.
Huayi is a good listener and knows how to convey what I want to say to every ear in a timely manner. This is where she is most intelligent and capable. So as soon as I saw her expression, I knew what she had heard.
.
Xiangbi’s thin and mean voice is familiar to me. Her words are sharp and fluent, as smooth as the tip of a knife across the skin.
Learn how to complain in front of others, it’s really a dog that bites and doesn’t bark!”
It was like a palace maid was trying to persuade her: "My lord, please bear with me for a while. Even the emperor is now helping Concubine Fu and supporting Concubine Guan. Your Majesty will only make yourself angry if you complain like this."
Concubine Xiang snorted coldly, "Who is Concubine Wan? But the emperor is still willing to take a look at her charming appearance, so he took out the concubine's money to make fun of me. He didn't even take a look at what she is. In the Buddhist temple
You are still restless and racking your brains to seduce the emperor. Do you think having a big belly is a big deal? - I always want to let her know how powerful I am!"
Hua Yi looked at me carefully, I just smiled indifferently and said loudly: "I don't know how powerful you are. I only know that walls have ears. Xiang concubines should be kind and cherish themselves. It's better to curse others now."
Eat a few more bowls of brown rice and pearl soup to cure your nightmare."
The house was empty, and the echoes made my voice clear and cold. The next door was silent for a long time. Hua Yi quietly climbed up to the wall and took a look. She fell down laughing and said, "There is no one around. I must have been scared away when I heard the Queen's voice."
"
I dismissed it, "She has such a strong-willed temperament, so I need to give her a strong one."
From then on, there were less and less traces of the concubine in front of my eyes and ears.
Note:
1 Gold armband: also known as choker, armband, etc., it is a kind of decoration worn by women in ancient my country. It is coiled into a spiral circle with gold and silver strips. The number of coils varies, usually three to There are eight circles, and there are also as many as twelve or three circles. The two ends are woven into loops with gold and silver wire, and the tightness is adjusted after being connected with the body of the bracelet.
2 The talent of chanting xu: From "Shishuo Xinyu". The story of Xie Daoyun in Jin Dynasty: Once, it snowed heavily, Xie Daoyun's uncle Xie An chanted a sentence to the snow: "What are you planning for the white snow?"
His brother Xie Lang replied: "The difference in the air can be adjusted by spreading salt." Xie Daoyun then said: "It's not like catkins blowing up due to the wind." When Xie An heard this, he was greatly impressed. Later generations used this to describe talented women.