After entering August, the months of bright sunshine have become a bit tiring. After a few cool rains, there is a refreshing and moist smell floating in the air. Autumn is coming so slowly.
At that time, I was lying in the courtyard, chatting with Concubine De and Concubine Duan who came to visit me. Jinxi smiled and refused all irrelevant noises and visits for me, "Concubine Shu was very tired and was sitting inside.
I’m taking a nap in the palace, I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you ladies and gentlemen for a while.”
Hua Yi half sat on a small stool and cracked the walnuts with a small silver hammer. Concubine De smiled, picked up one and ate it, saying: "You are at ease now. It's just that Jin Xi is out there taking care of it for you."
I leaned on the soft pillow of Shixiang Huanhua and said lazily: "I'm really afraid to see those faces of theirs. They are obviously very jealous of the child in your belly, but they just put on a smiling face and ask questions. How boring it is."
"
Concubine De stretched out her hand to tuck the thin red brocade silk quilt around me and said softly: "It's no wonder that you feel uncomfortable. Those things that happened a few days ago would make anyone feel extremely uncomfortable. Your Majesty, it's true.
I feel wronged to you."
I held her hand that was tucking the quilt for me and said with a smile: "You are so delicate, I'd rather trouble my sister."
The imperial concubine smiled and said: "It's not that Concubine De wants to be extra precious to you, but you are indeed blessed. You are already the mother of three sons. Even if the child born in your belly is not a prince, even if it is an imperial concubine, you will be in the palace."
Your position has reached its peak and cannot be shaken easily. If you think about it carefully, the affairs of the two palace concubines have been thrown at you one after another. If you had not raised three sons for the emperor, how could you have let this matter go so easily?" There was a subtle tone in her tone.
Sad, "As expected, I have my own child, so I can rely on you for everything. No wonder the queen hates you."
There was light laughter not far away. Where I looked, Emperor Wen Yi and Long Yue were playing with a jigsaw puzzle. Yu Han was curious and squatted down to watch the two sisters playing with it.
Sitting quietly on De Concubine's lap, she listened to us with half-understanding.
A sparse wind blew by, and all the forest flowers were gone, leaving only a large continuous maple leaf, burning in autumn red, spreading into the clouds. I looked at the children having fun with a smile, and I felt comfortable in my heart. There was a feeling in my chest.
An unspeakable feeling of annoyance arose, and I hurriedly took a pickled candied crabapple fruit and put it in my mouth. I frowned slightly and said, "Hua Yi's craftsmanship is not as good as Huanbi's. The pickled crabapple fruit is not sour at all."
Hua Yi stopped her hand, raised her head and said aggrievedly: "It's not so sour anymore. This is the third time I've marinated it for the sake of the empress, and I can't even eat it because it's so sour."
Concubine De smiled and said: "It's normal for pregnant women to have heavy mouths." After saying that, she picked up one and ate it before eating it. Concubine De frowned and hurriedly vomited it out. She then took some tea and rinsed her mouth.
She said: "It's so sour, so sour!" Concubine De has always been a steady person, but she lost her composure like this, which shows how sour the crabapple fruit is. I quickly called the palace maid to bring some cotton candy rhyme fruit to Concubine De, and said apologetically:
"I was too harsh and I blamed Hua Yi by mistake, which also made my sister feel bad in her mouth."
Concubine De was still frowning and speechless. She waved her hands and said nothing. The concubine smiled and said: "I heard that people who are pregnant with the prince have such strong tastes, but you are more powerful than others. You already have a pair of dragons and phoenixes."
Twins, do you want another pair of twin dragons playing with pearls?"
Concubine Duan rarely smiles, but now she smiles as brightly as a spring dawn, which makes people crazy. I pressed my heart and said: "It's strange to be pregnant this time. She is especially prone to nausea and nausea, and her heart is always stuffy."
It's unpleasant and the taste is extremely strong. It was never like this when I gave birth to Longyue."
Concubine Duan said carefully: "In this case, we should ask Wei Lin to come and have a look. Although you have given birth, it is better to be careful in everything."
Concubine De regained her composure at this time and said after hearing the words: "I remember that An Lirong was like this when she was pregnant. But my sister Fuduo has a long life, how can someone as unlucky as her be able to compare!"
The imperial concubine was thoughtful and said in a low voice: "When Queen Chunyuan was pregnant with her first child, she was in all sorts of discomforts. A woman giving birth to a child is like walking away behind closed doors. Queen Chunyuan raised her child so carefully at that time. After all, mother and child are still the same."
Death, there are too many things that hurt the Yin stallion in the palace, and it is difficult to raise the child. You have been so troubled the past few days, so it is better to take more care of it."
I was about to ask the concubine, Queen Chunyuan, how she raised a baby, but Lingxi slipped from Concubine De's lap, took my hand and said with a smile like a bell: "Sister, sister is chasing sister!"
Everyone looked in the direction of her finger, and saw Haoyue snatching a red jigsaw puzzle and running ahead with a proud face, saying with a smile: "Without this piece, Sister Wen Yi's rabbit will be missing an ear."
Wen Yi was anxious to grab the jigsaw puzzle, but was also afraid that Long Yue would fall, so she held up the hem of her skirt and chased after her, "Wanwan, run slower."
When Lingxi saw her sister chasing and fighting, she felt it was lively and kept laughing, "Sister chases sister, sister chases sister."
I heard the laughter, and a bright thunderbolt flashed through my mind, dazzling me. My brother once told me An Lirong's last words before his death, "Queen, kill the queen." It was An Lirong.
I really hate the queen, but she is telling a shocking secret through her brother's mouth!
I couldn't figure it out for a moment, so I murmured in a low voice: "Queen, kill the queen."
At this moment, only the imperial concubine and the concubine De were nearby. The concubine de hurriedly came to cover my mouth and whispered: "Even if you hate the queen, how can you say these words to your mouth without risking your life?"
The imperial concubine was a little further away and couldn't hear clearly. She turned her head and asked in confusion: "Who did you say killed whom?"
When the imperial concubine asked this question, the thick fog of confusion in my heart seemed to dissipate a little more, and I said in a low voice: "The queen killed the queen."
Concubine Duan has the most seniority in the palace. She has always shown her emotions and anger, and the depth of the city is very impressive. At this moment, her cheeks immediately turned white at first sight, and she stood up suddenly and said: "Queen?" Concubine Duan stood up too hastily.
, the Chinese character "Shou" in Ruizhu Chijin on the bun swayed with each step, "You know something, don't you?"
The night gradually became gloomy, I put on my clothes and stood up, and the concubine walked side by side with me into the inner hall. Concubine De rarely saw such strange expressions on the concubine and I, so she hurriedly asked Ping Niang and Zhong Niang to take care of a few children, and then
I followed in without saying a word. I leaned half against the pear wood carved round table and lit a Heyang flower candle. A small orange halo shone on the faces of me and the imperial concubine looking at each other. For a long time, I lightly
I sighed, "I'm not talking nonsense, these words are the last words An Li Rong said before she died." I deliberately concealed the last meeting between my brother and Li Rong, "Before An Li Rong committed suicide, she asked someone to write this sentence
The words were passed on to me. I always thought that she hated the Queen and wanted me to kill the Queen for her."
Concubine Duan's eyes were burning and her breathing was long, "With her cleverness, if she really hates her, she can do it herself, and she doesn't have to die to entrust you."
"I have never thought about her words carefully. It was not until today when I heard Lingxi say something by chance that I remembered the key point - it turns out that there is another meaning." I looked at the imperial concubine, "Looking at my sister's expression just now, it seemed that she had already understood it.
This conjecture."
Although I don’t know the friendship between Concubine Duan and Queen Chunyuan in the past, but Concubine Duan mastered the true biography of Queen Chunyuan with her pipa, so they must have had a deep relationship. Concubine Duan seemed to be immersed in the past and did not hear my question.
He only whispered Judao: "I was still young at the time, and I always didn't understand. I was raised by the Queen Mother when I was ten years old. Although I was born in a royal family, I also knew in my heart that in this life, I can only be the emperor's concubine, and I will never be a concubine.
There will be a chance to ascend to the throne. Therefore, I have no distractions. I am registered as a concubine and just concentrate on serving the emperor and the queen mother. There are two girls of the right age in the queen mother's mother's family, the direct descendant Chun Yuan Empress Zhu Rouze and the concubine Zhu Yixiu
.Queen Chunyuan was already famous throughout the world before she entered the palace. She had been betrothed to the son of General Fuyuan much earlier, and she was just waiting to get married. The Queen Mother herself was a concubine, and she was afraid that the daughter of a legitimate daughter would be too squeamish, so although she was a concubine, she was calm-minded.
Zhu Yixiu entered the palace. Because the emperor was still young and Zhu Yixiu was a concubine, it was not suitable to be canonized as queen immediately, so she was established as concubine Xian first, and she could be canonized as empress after giving birth to the prince. In fact, as soon as Zhu Yixiu entered the palace, this was
Everyone knows it. And the emperor was also kind to her. She and I were the only ones in the palace at that time, and life went smoothly. Soon, Zhu Yixiu became pregnant. Everything was as expected by everyone, until that day..."
Concubine Duan sighed slightly, as if she couldn't bear to look back, "On that day, Queen Chunyuan was ordered to enter the palace to accompany her pregnant sister. Who would have expected that she would meet the emperor by the Taiye Pond. It should be fate, but the emperor actually said...
Queen Chunyuan fell in love at first sight and immediately went to beg the Queen Mother to welcome her into the palace as the Queen. The Emperor insisted on this, and the Queen Mother could not go against his will. Queen Chunyuan was promised to be the son of General Fuyuan in order to help the Emperor ascend the throne.
At that time, the regent was dead, and no one dared to disobey the Queen Mother's iron fist. General Fuyuan had no choice but to break off the engagement on the grounds that "the young son is unfaithful." The Queen Mother kindly comforted her and married a princess, thus saving the royal dignity."
Concubine De asked: "Hasn't the Emperor met Queen Chunyuan before?"
The imperial concubine said: "Queen Chunyuan has been betrothed to someone else for a long time. The daughter to be married is not suitable to be seen in person, so she has never seen her." She added: "The emperor and the queen mother are like this. Zhu Yixiu does not dare to object. After all, it is her own fault.
It was proposed that there is a distinction between concubines and concubines, and that the eldest sister should occupy the last position when entering the palace. The emperor and the queen mother also breathed a sigh of relief. Rou Ze was the master of the middle palace, and Zhu Yixiu was the first of the four concubines. In this way, she gave birth to a son and became the queen.
Soon, Zhu Yixiu gave birth to a prince, but the prince died before he was three years old. At that time, Queen Chunyuan was also pregnant. After Queen Chunyuan entered the palace, she favored the sixth palace.
The Concubine Xiande and Concubine Xianxian, who were in harmony with the emperor and entered the palace one day later than her, were already full of resentment and often made provocations, but the queen didn't care about it. She might have been pregnant that day and was easily irritable, so Concubine Xianxian said a few words.
If she offended her, the queen got angry and punished her by kneeling outside the palace to think about her fault. As a result, the child of the late concubine was gone. In fact, no one knew that the late concubine was pregnant at the time, and the queen made an unintentional mistake. As a result, the queen did this
He regretted himself endlessly and often felt depressed. Zhu Yixiu had some medical skills and was always very respectful to the queen. The emperor did not trust others to take care of him, so he asked her to serve around him. Zhu Yixiu also helped the imperial doctor to read prescriptions. The queen was pregnant.
She always felt unwell, and her final delivery was extremely painful. She gave birth to a stillborn fetus and passed away. Before she died, she still fell on the emperor's lap and begged not to anger the imperial doctor, but also to take good care of her only sister Zhu Yixiu. Don't say that the emperor was sad.
I was so distraught that even we couldn't bear it. The queen had always been kind to everyone in the palace, but who knew that the year would never end? Even the child, I took a look at it quietly. The child had several blue spots on his body, which disappeared as soon as he was born.
breath."
"Blue spots? Why do you have blue spots on your body? Does your Majesty know?"
"I know. The imperial doctor said it was because the fetus was not frightened enough that it was like this."
"Because of the Queen's last words, the Queen Mother did not want the Emperor to choose another woman as his queen, so she agreed to make Zhu Yixiu the middle palace. You also know what happened next." The imperial concubine dug her long nails into the soft velvet.
On the coral red tablecloth with the word "Fu", "Zhu Yixiu cried and fainted several times when Queen Chunyuan left. The love between sisters is so touching. I was young and didn't understand at the time. I watched with cold eyes these years. Zhu Yixiu attached great importance to the position of the queen. Could it be that he was stabbed by someone back then?
Didn't she hate it at all? So I paid attention secretly, and the more I thought about it, the more scared I became, but there was no evidence."
Concubine Duan was always taciturn, and she spoke from the bottom of her heart to this point, which was an exception in her life. Concubine De listened attentively, her breathing gradually became faster, "She was with Empress Chunyuan when she was pregnant, and she wanted to bribe the imperial doctor.
It's not bad to be with the people around the queen. According to her temperament, she didn't care about me when I was very respectful to her, let alone the person who took away her throne?! And the queen happened to be pregnant when she lost her son.
Wouldn't it drive people crazy even more!" Concubine De was already frightened at the end of her sentence, but some dark red fanaticism slowly emerged from the fear, "If she really did this, she was the one who caused her death.
Queen Chunyuan and the prince..."
The imperial concubine intercepted her words and said calmly: "We have no evidence."
Concubine De clenched her fist tightly and said resolutely, "There will definitely be. An Lirong has been by the Queen's side for many years and has the most meticulous mind. She must have discovered something, otherwise she would never dare to say such things."
I lowered my head and thought deeply, then slowly said: "Not necessarily. Maybe we are overly concerned and we don't know."
The imperial concubine caressed Concubine De's shoulder and said warmly: "I know you hate her and hate her for causing you to have no more children. However, no matter how much you hate her, you must be calm and patient when you cannot knock down the enemy with one blow." She laughed at herself slightly, with a look in her eyes.
A glimmer of bright color flashed, "Actually, what's the difference between us and actors?"
I turned my head and saw a small person standing in the shadow under the soft curtain. I was shocked and whispered, "Longyue, why are you here!"
I don't know when, Long Yue has quietly come in. I don't know how much she listened, and I don't know if she understands it. I just watched her quietly walk to De Concubine, leaned on her arm and whispered: "Mother Concubine,
I'm sleepy."
Concubine De glanced at the dark sky outside the window, held her face and coaxed softly: "Okay. We'll go back right away."
The imperial concubine's face was as calm as water, "Let's go back first. This matter needs to be discussed in the long term. No one can be careless."
I nodded quietly, holding back the growing chill in my heart and the wisp of cold sadness rising from the depths of my lower abdomen.
In the dead of night, the entire Ziao City finally fell into the silent darkness. In the hazy dream, I could vaguely hear the sound of pipa playing in the distance of Pixiang Hall, which continued all night long, like drizzle outside the curtain.