On the seventh day of August in the 23rd year of Qianyuan, Xuan Ling issued an order to seal the Sixth Palace. Duan Fei Qi Yuebin was appointed Duan Guifei, Jing Fei Feng Ruozhao was De Fei, Min Fei Hu Yunrong was Zhuang Min's wife, and Zhaorong Lu Yingfeng was Xin Fei. Yuan'an Lirong is the concubine Li, Shurong Xu Yanyi is the concubine Zhen, Jieyu Zhou Pei is the concubine Qing, Ronghua Liu Lingxian is the concubine Shen, Jieyu Zhao Xianhui is the concubine Yun, Concubine Fu Liying is the concubine Fu, Mu The concubines Wang Xuanyu is Fenyi, Xiaoyi Ye Lanyi is the concubine Yan, the nobleman Yu Rong and Chishao are the concubines, the nobleman Luo Xixi is the concubine, the nobleman Zhu Hanzhi is the concubine, and the nobleman Yingjiang Qinshui is Ying. Concubine, the Kang noble Shi Yiyun is Liang Di, the Mu noble Mu Jingqiu is Liang Yuan, the talented Yan Zhixiu is Lin noble.
On August 17, the concubine Shen Meizhuang was given posthumously as the concubine Huiyi, the concubine Tang Jingyan was concubine Gongcixian, the concubine Chun Fang Chunyi was concubine Chunmin, the concubine Xiang Cao Qinmo was concubine Xiangmu, the concubine Rui Luo Linzhen was concubine Zhaojie, and the concubine Shun was concubine Zhaojie. The servant Murong Shilan was chosen as the noble concubine Shuncheng, and the commoner Yang Mengsheng was chosen as the noble concubine Gongjing.
The imperial edict clearly stated that the most honorable Concubine Duan, the Qi family, would be in charge of the Sixth Palace together with Concubine De and I. The concubine had always been weak and sick, so she naturally refused to hear the order. I had no choice but to go to the newly renovated Pixiang Hall to meet Concubine Duan privately. , pleaded: "I only ask my sister to love me. The emperor asked me to assist in the Sixth Palace that day. No matter how careful I am, I will not avoid being plotted by others. My sister still remembers the matter of Hu Yunrong's clothes. It is my fault at every turn for my inability to restrain myself." Having been the most prestigious in the palace for many years, Sister De Concubine is very popular among the people. If Sister De Concubine and Sister De Concubine are with me, we will always have someone to rely on each other, otherwise no matter who we are, we will inevitably fall into the trap of others."
At that time, Concubine Duan was already a noble concubine, with the highest status among the concubines. Even the Emperor Wen Yi whom she raised became the most honorable among the concubines. Concubine Duan held Wen Yi in thought for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement. .
The ceremony of sealing the Sixth Palace lasted for three hours in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This was the second time in the Qian and Yuan Dynasties that the Sixth Palace was sealed. The first time was when Xuan Ling married Queen Chunyuan. Such a grand ceremony, Around the 23rd year of Qianyuan, all the concubines who had received some favors were canonized, and the palace was celebrated. Naturally, it was very lively. Even the opera in Xiantai in Shanglinyuan sang for three days and three nights, not to mention all the concubines. The palace singing and dancing continued night after night.
The newly promoted Concubine Li, An Lirong, was not allowed to participate in the imperial concubine ceremony that day. The reason was naturally that the queen was considerate, the weather was getting hotter, and there were many people in the Ancestral Temple. Concubine Li, who was more than four months pregnant, was indeed not allowed to attend. Suitable to participate. In this way, the title of Concubine Oriole is somewhat in name only. However, the Queen's consolation is that you can be registered as a wife after giving birth, so there is no need to rush. The Queen's words are naturally reasonable. For example, when I handed over the list of Jin's titles, When it came into the hands of the queen, she proposed that Jieyu Zhao be promoted as a noble concubine, but I did not express any objection.
What is worth mentioning is the posthumous title ceremony in early June. With the destruction of the Guan family and the revival of the Zhen family, the Rui concubine Luo who hanged herself to death was also posthumously named a concubine with the posthumous title of "Zhaojie". This is also It is reasonable. The Queen Mother proposed that Yang Mengsheng, who was deposed as a commoner in the past, was posthumously named Gongjing Noble Concubine. It was undoubtedly a loud slap in the face of An Lirong. This meant that An Lirong was referring to that day. This overturns the conclusion that Yang Fangyi caused her to be infertile for many years. In fact, Xuan Ling was also sentimental about Yang Fangyi's so-called suicide by swallowing gold that day. This made the pregnant An Lirong very uneasy.
Many mornings or afternoons when I went to the Yining Palace to pay my respects to the Queen Mother, I saw An Lirong, who looked respectful and stood in the corridor of the Yining Palace with her head bowed, waiting to pay homage to the Queen Mother. Her lower abdomen was already swollen, and Baojuan and Baoying were supporting her one by one.
She looked so fragile and weak, so pitiful.
The Queen Mother didn't seem to care about the child that was about to be born in Concubine Li's womb. She always asked her to wait for half an hour and then sent the maid to tell her, "The Queen Mother wants to rest, and she will not be free today." During those days, the Queen Mother told the four people.
The love of Prince Yurun is even more obvious, "The Ai family already has four filial grandsons. Concubine Huiyi passed away early, so the Ai family can only love this grandson even more."
Such embarrassment made the concubines in the harem even more contemptuous of the titular oriole concubine. Many concubines' palaces had many orioles overnight, and the topic of their gatherings often stopped at the orioles they raised.
.
"Scream as hard as you can, the sound will sound as good as Concubine Oriole singing."
"Sister, I forgot, Concubine Li can no longer sing."
"Oh, it's okay if you can dance. Look at how well my oriole can flap its wings."
"My sister has also forgotten that she is pregnant with the emperor's heir, so how can she dance easily."
Of course, these discussions were private and never reached Xuan Ling's ears. Once he asked why there were so many orioles in the palace, Qinggui's concubine covered her mouth and smiled and said: "The concubines envy Concubine Oriole for having a dragon."
I wish I could have as many children as the oriole, I want to get some blessings."
Li Rong became more and more depressed. The only thing that made her happy was that her father An Bihuai was finally forgiven by Xuan Ling and was given a thousand taels of gold to return to his hometown for retirement.
The most surprising thing was Murong Shilan's posthumous title. I always thought Xuan Ling was merciless to her, until that day when he was in my palace and talked about the galloping horse at the martial arts platform that day, he said
: "Yu Rao's demeanor when riding and shooting was very similar to the innocent Shilan when she first entered the palace." This was the first time after Murong Shilan's death that he recalled her in front of me, "She was seventeen years old at that time and very bold.
She is also very innocent and cute, like a rose, delicate but thorny."
That day, I was enjoying the cool air with him in the courtyard. I shook my fan and pondered for a moment, then said with a smile: "I heard that Murong once raced a horse with the emperor, so the noble Yu Rong's galloping appearance should be more like her."
"It is indeed very similar." Xuan Ling looked at me: "If I want to give her an honor, Huan Huan, will you object?"
He asked this, obviously he had a plan in his heart. Although Murong Shilan was vicious, I had wrongly blamed her for many things back then. Besides, after all, it had been so many years. So I nodded, "The deceased has passed away, I am my concubine.
I don’t want to cling too much to the grudges of the past, so the Emperor has decided.”
His temple hair was blown a little by the evening breeze, and a few strands escaped from the flat golden crown. His eyes were straight, and a slight trace of vicissitudes of life flowed from his eyebrows like water, "I still want to give Yu Rong the title of concubine."
I remained silent and quickly said with a smile: "Although the ancestral system for palace maids to advance to the throne requires promotion step by step, if the emperor likes it, it doesn't matter if he occasionally makes exceptions."
The moonlight was as cool as water, making the stars in the sky even more shining like diamonds. The clear waves in front of the Rouyi Palace were washed away, and the reflection of the red dust was completely silent. The moonlight was silent, and even the human heart was illuminated a little more clearly. He gently caressed
I let down my untied long hair and said, "It's good if you can understand. Rong'er is not happy with the queen, Rong'er is sad, the queen is displeased, and I am also very upset."
After the excitement of the canonization ceremony, I summoned Wei Lin in my spare time one day. It was the end of summer, and the summer flowers in the courtyard were blooming with a sense of enthusiasm as if the situation was over, as if they were trying their best.
Release the fragrance to capture a little bit of your own season. The sunlight casts sparse spots of light from the gaps between the flower branches, and falls through the ice gauze screen of the long window into a light freehand ink on the ground.
I have an embroidery on my hand that says "Diao Chan worships the moon". The small scaffolding makes the whole piece of cloth full and tense. When the embroidery needle is pricked, you can hear a slight "chi" sound. I don't even turn my head.
He raised his head and said calmly: "I have called you here to ask, is Concubine Li's fetal condition still stable?"
Wei Lin said: "Only by looking, hearing and asking can we get an accurate answer. When Wei Chen followed the empress to Jingchun Palace that day, he could only look and hear, so the answer may not be accurate."
I smiled and said, "Mr. Wei is very calm and knows that I will ask you this question after I take you there. How can you give me a specious answer?"
Wei Lin shook his head gently, "As the empress wishes, I'm afraid Concubine Li's child will not be born."
I smiled softly and raised my head, but I didn't realize that there was a bit of cruelty in my voice, "I'm just asking for nothing, how did you know that I hope that Concubine Li's child will not be born? To slander me is not a small crime."
Wei Lin smiled calmly, with a glint in his eyes, "The doctor Xu who took Concubine Li's pulse has reported that the fetus is peaceful. If the empress believes it, she will naturally not come to ask the minister again."
I smiled warmly, pointed to the chair nearby and said, "Sit down and answer." I leisurely stopped sewing, "Since you know what I want, you don't have to just say what I want. Let's just tell the truth."
Wei Lin bowed and said: "Wei Chen read the pulse record while no one was aware. It said the symbol of peace, but it was just an ordinary anti-fetal medicine. However, moxa leaves and scutellaria baicalensis, which are anti-fetal and replenishing qi, were added to the medicinal materials.
Ramie root, Atractylodes and other medicines.”
I was shocked on the face, but secretly felt a ray of joy in my heart, and said: "I don't know, but mugwort leaves can warm menstruation and stop bleeding. I won't use it lightly unless necessary."
"The empress is wise. On that day, Wei Chen noticed signs of fumigation in Concubine Li's palace. Although incense was lit in the palace to cover up the smell of fumigation, Wei Chen believed that he smelled it right. Concubine Li was pregnant in the first month of April.
Mugwort leaves, it can be seen that bleeding symptoms have already occurred. In addition, scutellaria baicalensis and ramie root can stop bleeding and detoxify, while Atractylodes has the effects of nourishing qi, strengthening the spleen, and antiperspirant. These medicines indicate that Concubine Oriole has both qi and blood deficiency, and she has the symptoms of night sweats and miscarriage.
"My complexion is still good now, thanks to these medicines that keep me energetic. However, my internal organs have been reduced. In addition, I heard that Concubine Li is often depressed. I am afraid that the older the month, the more precarious the fetus in the belly will be, and it will definitely not be able to reach full term delivery." He said.
She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice: "Concubine Oriole's constitution is very weak, and there are signs of musk invading her body. It is not easy to conceive. I don't know what method she used to force pregnancy. Although there was fetal gas, the child was pregnant.
Can’t keep it.”
I held the porcelain cup and slowly took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "Everything is not yet complete. Doesn't Imperial Physician Wei also think that there is still a 10% or 20% certainty that Concubine Li can save her fetus? Concubine Li is the emperor's favorite at the moment, everyone.
The imperial doctors will do their best to ensure that Concubine Li gives birth smoothly."
"But," Wei Lin glanced at me quickly, "Concubine Oriole used Ai to know that her pregnancy was difficult to preserve, but the emperor didn't know. If the pregnancy is really impossible to preserve, who does the empress think is responsible?"
My heart skipped a beat, as if I had been struck hard by lightning. At this moment, I already understood. The embroidery needle in my hand seemed to be clogged with sweat, and became astringent bit by bit. I only had a faint smile on my face, "If I can't save it, I won't."
Forget it, otherwise whoever you meet will be unlucky." My mind suddenly moved, "You know this and I know it, so of course I don't have to bear this responsibility."
Wei Lin nodded and said, "Yes. However, the empress and Concubine Li have always had a close relationship, so naturally the relationship will not fall on the empress."
I had known that Wei Lin was smarter than Wen Shichu, but I didn't expect him to care about it like this. I pondered for a while, then suddenly remembered something, and I called Huayi, "Bring me the blue and white porcelain box in the third small drawer under my dressing table."
It was a porcelain box the size of a thumb, with a pink incense bait the size of a fingernail in it. I placed it in front of him, "The dew incense used in her palace that day was not serious, but I can't see it. Look.
Look what is this?"
He smelled it carefully, spread a little powder with his fingers, dipped it in some water and smelled it again. I saw that his expression was solemn, but his face turned red for some reason. It was a strange flush, and I took the powder he had dissolved.
After taking a deep sniff of the scented bait, I felt warm in my heart. My heartbeat was beating clearly and clearly, faster and faster. Gradually, my eyes and ears became hot, and my whole person became a little light. I knew it was not good.
He threw the thing away with a "snap" and shouted: "Jinxi!"
When Jin Xi hurried over, I had already poured water on my face and gradually calmed down. Jin Xi took some ice cubes and put it on Wei Lin's face. After a long time, he gradually returned to his normal expression, leaned over and said shamefully: "Wei Chen is rash, don't want to
This fragrance is so powerful!”
I gave him a cup of very strong Kuding tea and said, "You just said what's in it?"
He frowned and took a sip, which made his eyebrows knotted in bitterness. After a while, he cleared his throat and said: "Ylang ylang, cardamom, dogwood, cistanche deserticola, green wood incense, cnidium monnieri, tomato flower, rhubarb, toad pod, oyster and
Polygala."
I couldn't hear anything, so I wondered: "It seems like some medicinal materials?"
He nodded, "If they are separated, they are indeed common medicinal materials, but if they are mixed together, they are useful for both men and women..."
He didn't say anything further, but my face turned red. I had already guessed it and said, "How powerful can you be if you just dissolve these things with water?"
Wei Lin said: "I put a lot of ylang ylang and cnidium monnieri. If this incense is burned, the medicinal properties will be stronger. Therefore, it is usually mixed with other spices to be effective, which is not easy.
aware."
I thought about something and asked, "This ylang-ylang has the effect of moving people's emotions. What will happen if it touches the incense in the pear tent?"
"Same effect. But the effect is not as powerful as this fragrance. Because ylang-ylang is a grass plant after all, and the ylang-ylang in this fragrance is purified in large quantities. As you can imagine, ylang-ylang is not always available in all seasons, but with this fragrance,
Then you can be worry-free year after year."
I nodded, "You can go back, I'll be waiting for you."
The weather was extremely hot for the next few days, and in the evening there was a cold wind, heavy rain, and thunderstorms. After several episodes of irregular heat and cold, I came down with wind and cold and was bedridden. This illness showed no sign of improvement for several days, and I gradually became haggard.
Go down. One after another, concubines came to greet me. I couldn't see them, so I simply declined, leaving the affairs of the Sixth Palace to Concubine De, and just resting and recuperating. Xuan Ling couldn't help but feel distressed, and he was there morning, lunch and night
Once I came here, I even simmered the medicine and personally delivered it to my lips one spoon at a time.
This morning, I felt a little more energetic. Just as Xuan Ling came down early, the two of them talked about the recent events in the palace. The morning light was picturesque, and the two of them looked at each other quietly, and there was a sense of indifference to each other.
Hua Yi opened the curtain and came in, serving a bowl of light white porridge with a few slices of purple ginger.
Xuan Ling took it and said sympathetically: "I'm here to feed you."
Hua Yi lowered his hand and said, "My dearest lady, Lady Li, come here to say hello."
Xuan Ling said casually: "Send her in."
Hua Yi hesitated slightly, "Concubine Li has been here for several days, but she has not been seen."
Xuan Ling's eyebrows rose with a hint of displeasure, and he turned to Hua Yi and asked, "Does Concubine Ori come to pay her respects every day?"
Hua Yi was a little at a loss and quickly answered truthfully: "Yes. I come every morning. I don't see you once."
Xuan Ling put the bowl on the small table beside the bed and said to me: "Rong'er came here pregnant, why should she stand outside and not be allowed in."
I turned my face away, "I really don't want to see her come."
There was a moment of stagnation in the air, and he called me, "Shu Fei." There was a vague anger in this voice. I didn't apply makeup at this time, and because I was thin due to illness, my tearful face was quite pitiful, "The emperor also felt that
Should I see my sister? I haven't recovered from the cold. What if I meet my sister and hurt my sister and the fetus? I would rather be reprimanded by the emperor than dare to commit any crime."
Xuan Ling's eyebrows stretched, and he was already smiling, "I know that you and Concubine Li are particularly close, so I will never ignore the Queen Mother."
I smiled with tears in my eyes and spat at him: "The Emperor is clearly overly concerned." I smiled and pushed, "My sister must still be waiting outside. I am considerate of her, but my sister may not understand that it is up to the Emperor to accompany my sister."
Go back and explain it clearly so that your sister can feel at ease."
He held my hand and said, "I'll feed you before you go."
I smiled and said, "My sister is a pregnant woman. Your Majesty, please go quickly!" I bowed my head gently, "My sister is always preoccupied. After getting pregnant, she often worries about gains and losses. It is actually useless for the purpose of having a baby. She should have more concubines.
I went to accompany her and feel relieved. Who knew that my body was so unsatisfactory, so I had to ask the emperor to spend more time with my sister.