It was already dark after dinner, the evening breeze was blowing, the sky was full of stars, and the fragrance of lotus was pleasant. Swallowing novel www. The lakeside was covered with lush wild grass, red polygonum, reed and calamus. The wind rustled, and there were a few waterfowl. White cranes were playing among them. The night breeze blew slowly, giving it a light coolness.
The road to Yuruntang is not far, so I did not bring many attendants with me. Xuan Ling and I walked hand in hand on the waterside verandah, folding flowers and playing fish in the wind, talking and laughing.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard a room full of lively orioles. They stepped back two steps and followed Xuan Ling in. The Queen, Concubine Hua, Concubine Xin, Concubine Xingui, Cao Jieyu and others all I was talking to Meizhuang when I saw Xuan Ling coming and got up to greet him.
Xuan Ling hurriedly held down Meizhuang who was about to stand up and said, "I told you earlier that you don't have to salute." He supported the queen with one hand and said, "Get up." He smiled and said, "It's a coincidence that the queen and all your beloved concubines are here too. "
The queen smiled and said: "Shen Ronghua is pregnant. As the master of the harem, I should be more caring and considerate and fulfill my duties as a queen."
The concubines also said: "My concubines and others also follow the queen."
Xuan Ling nodded with satisfaction.
Except for me, Concubine Hua, and Cao Jieyu, everyone else had not seen the Holy Master for a few days. When they suddenly saw Xuan Ling, it was inevitable that their eyes would be focused on him eagerly.
Concubine Hua glanced at me, smiled sweetly and said, "Has your Majesty had your meal? I have a new Western Vietnamese chef in my concubine's palace, and he is very good at cooking."
Xuan Ling said casually: "We just had dinner at Yifu Restaurant. Let's try another day."
Concubine Hua smiled lightly and said: "I guess there must be a good cook in Jieyu Palace, so that the emperor can be retained."
Meizhuang nodded towards me; the queen still looked serious and amiable; Cao Jieyu seemed not to have heard; the faces of the others were already vaguely unhappy.
Concubine Hua really refused to sit idle and wanted to hold me in front of everyone!
I smiled warmly: "The emperor has never forgotten the purple ginseng and pheasant soup in the palace of Concubine Hua. Now that a good cook has arrived, doesn't it mean that the emperor will be obsessed with the empress?"
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, everyone's attention immediately turned to Concubine Hua and ignored me. What's the big deal about having dinner together? Who cares in the emperor's heart is who the concubines in the harem really care about and are jealous of.
Concubine Hua's cheeks turned slightly red and she laughed: "I haven't been chatting with Jieyu for more than a month, but Jieyu is as articulate as ever."
She lowered her head slightly, looked at Xuan Ling tactfully, and said to him Yanran: "Your Majesty's demeanor is still the same as before."
Concubine Hua was about to speak again. Xuan Ling smiled indifferently at Concubine Hua, but his eyes were as cool as the ice sculptures placed in the palace, sweeping over Concubine Hua's beautiful face: "Nizi is smart and witty, and loves to joke when she is young. Concubine Hua also Do you want to fight with her?"
Concubine Hua couldn't help but tremble when Xuan Ling's eyes met her. She quickly smiled and said, "I also like Jieyu's intelligence very much, so I love to joke with her more."
Xuan Ling glanced at her and softened his expression: "Concubine Hua has been with me for many years and understands what I am thinking."
While he was talking, the maid from Yuruntang had already brought melons and fruits. Everyone tasted the melons and fruits and chatted for a long time.
That night Xuanling was in a very good mood, and when he saw the Queen at her side, who was attentive and polite, he couldn't bear to offend her. In addition, the concubines were sitting around each other, so it was not appropriate to go to my Yifu Pavilion again, so he said that he should go to the Queen's Guangfeng Jiyue. temple.
Since the emperor spoke and went to the queen's main palace, naturally no one dared to criticize. They all respectfully sent the emperor off.
Just after leaving the entrance of the main hall of Yurun Hall, I suddenly saw a figure flashing behind the thousand bamboo poles. With sharp eyes, Xingui concubine shouted "Ouch". Xuanling heard the sound and looked over, shouting: "Who is sneaking there?
?”
Immediately a chamberlain rushed over and pulled the man out. When he looked at the lantern, he saw that it was a little palace maid named Fuling next to Meizhuang. She had never seen such a battle before. She was so frightened that she shivered and her hands loosened.
, the baggage held in his arms fell down, and the luxurious clothes were spread out on the floor. They looked familiar, as if they were all from Meizhuang.
Xuan Ling raised his head, and Li Chang walked up knowingly.
Li Chang bent down and turned it over casually, his expression changed, he pointed at Poria and yelled: "What is this, stealing the mistress's things and trying to escape with him?" As he said this, he asked two strong chamberlains to twist Poria.
Fu Ling's face turned pale and she just shut her mouth tightly and said nothing. Meizhuang had always been proud and arrogant. Seeing that such a shameful thing happened in his palace, he was angry and anxious. He kept saying: "Such a worthless slave, drag me away."
go out!"
Xuan Ling supported her and said: "You are a pregnant woman, why are you so angry?"
Fu Ling, who was kneeling on the ground, cried: "Little Master! Little Master, save me!"
Seeing everyone looking at him, Mei Zhuang waved his hands in embarrassment, "How can I tolerate you if you do such a thing!" He stamped his feet and urged: "Go quickly! Go quickly!"
Cao Jieyu suddenly said "Hey", took a palace lantern from the hand of the chamberlain, stepped forward and carefully looked through the baggage, picked up a pair of silk trousers and asked curiously: "What is this?"
Qin Fangyi also came up to take a closer look, covered her nose and frowned: "Oh, there is blood on these pants!"
Could it be that he was seeking money and killing someone? His mind turned around a few times, and he turned around to see that everyone's faces were full of surprise and uncertainty. Meizhuang was even more frightened. He was even more suspicious in his heart. How could he not steal valuable jewelry and only take a few pieces if it was a theft?
The clothes were all trousers, not even a top was missing from the skirt.
Xuan Ling said: "This is very strange. How can someone steal something of value and only take some trousers and skirts, and they are dirty?"
The queen said "yes" repeatedly. Then she said: "These things seem to belong to Shen Ronghua, but how come they are stained with blood?"
Concubine Xingui whispered: "Could it be that I saw red?"
Although the voice was small, several people nearby heard it. For a moment, everyone looked nervously towards Meizhuang. Meizhuang was even more confused: "No -"
Before she finished speaking, Concubine Hua said: "You guys help Shen Ronghua go in and have a rest." Then she said to Xuan Ling: "Your Majesty, this girl is very weird. In my humble opinion, I might as well order someone to take her to the Criminal Division for interrogation."
Because he was one of his own, Mei Zhuang had lost face in front of the emperor and the empress. He was angry and said angrily: "If your hands and claws are so unclean, drag him down and torture him!"
The Shenxing Department was the place where palace ladies were tortured when they made mistakes. It was horrifying to hear that the punishment laws were harsh. When Fuling heard the cry of "Ah", she almost fainted. Suddenly she shouted: "Little Master, I will destroy it for you."
Evidence, I didn’t expect that you would be so cruel as to abandon this slave to death, so why should I be loyal to you!” After saying that, he threw himself at Xuan Ling’s feet, kowtowed repeatedly and said, “Now that things have happened, I don’t dare to deceive the emperor anymore, little master.
In fact, she is not pregnant. These clothes were not stolen by the slave. The young master soiled the clothes and pants a few days ago and asked the slave to throw them away. These clothes are the irrefutable proof!"
Mei Zhuang's face was as white as paper, he was so frightened that he almost fainted. Cai Yue and Bai Ling beside him shouted urgently: "My lord, my lord..." Meizhuang turned to Xuan Ling with a trembling voice and said, "Your Majesty—she! She! This
A lowly maid makes false accusations against my concubine!"
Everyone looked at each other in shock after hearing what Fuling said. I was so shocked that I couldn't speak. This happened so suddenly that even I felt like I was in a fog and didn't know what was going on.
Xuan Ling didn't say anything when he heard the words. He only looked at Fu Ling coldly, so that she didn't dare to raise her head, and then said in a low voice: "Shen Ronghua was frightened. Go and ask for the imperial doctor." Meizhuang seemed to be slightly relieved after hearing this. In a tone of voice, he said: "Eunuch Li, go ask Dr. Liu who is protecting my fetus. I just don't know if he will be on duty tonight."
Li Chang responded with a "yes" and said, "It's not Doctor Liu's turn tonight."
Xuan Ling said: "It doesn't matter if you're not here. Then please ask the hospital to provide some Zhang Mi."
Meizhuang said: "But my concubine's pregnancy has always been done by Dr. Liu..."
"It doesn't matter. They are all the same imperial doctors."
When I heard what he said, I knew that I had to ask the imperial doctor to verify the authenticity. For some reason, my body suddenly felt cold. Under the light moonlight, my eyebrows were as pale as paper.
The imperial doctor arrived soon. Meizhuang sat leaning on a chair and took his pulse. Zhang Mi tilted his head and took the pulse for a long time, his lips pursed tighter and tighter, his goatee twitched slightly, and a large amount of sweat broke out on his forehead. beads.
Seeing this, the queen hurriedly said: "Mr. Zhang, what exactly is going on? Could it be that she has fetal gas?"
Doctor Zhang hurriedly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty and Queen, forgive me." He raised his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his forehead and stammered: "I am incompetent. Young master Rong Hua, she, she, she -" said three times in a row "She", Fang uttered the second half of the sentence: "There is no fetal image!"
As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked.
My heart suddenly became cold. Meizhuang was shocked and pressed his belly with one hand and pointed at Zhang Mi and shouted sharply: "You are talking nonsense! How can a good child not have a fetal image!"
I grabbed Meizhuang and said, "Sister, please stay calm. Maybe the imperial doctor made a mistake in his diagnosis."
Zhang Mi kowtowed and said: "Wei Chen is not a master of the same subject. To be cautious, we can ask Jiang Muyang, Imperial Physician Jiang, to review it together. But Imperial Physician Jiang is in Ding Youzhong..."
Xuan Ling's face was as hard as iron, and he uttered two words coldly: "Go and invite."
When everyone saw this, they knew they were angry, and they didn't dare to express their anger for a long time. There was silence in the palace, and the air was so gelled that it seemed like latex that could not be melted. Meizhuang was pregnant, and she had always been the most privileged. Even in the palace, The ice provided in the cloisonné basin for keeping cool was also carefully carved into auspicious patterns. With the warmth of the crowd, the intricately carved patterns melted away, leaving only a few shapeless transparent pieces. , the tiny droplets of water slid down and fell on the plate. There was a crisp sound of "Ding Dong", and the entire Yurun Hall was filled with an inexplicable coolness because of the silence of this drop.
When Meizhuang saw Jiang Muyang come in, his face brightened a little. Jiang Muyang also nodded slightly.
Jiang Muyang took his pulse and said in surprise: "My young master is not pregnant. I don't know which imperial physician diagnosed and treated her and said she is pregnant."
Mei Zhuang's face had already turned a little red, but when he heard what he said, his body suddenly went limp and he almost collapsed on the chair. He slipped to the ground and knelt down.
At this point, it is clear that Mei Zhuang is not pregnant, but I don’t know whether this was her own plan or whether she was framed by others. I know that Mei Zhuang is indeed eager to have a child. Could it be that she went out of her way to gain favor? Such a bad policy. If this is really the case, I can't help but feel sad. Meizhuang, Meizhuang, you are not extremely confused!
Cai Yue, who was behind Meizhuang, said anxiously: "This is wrong. Miss Ming Mingyue can't believe it. She vomits and likes to eat acid. Doesn't she look pregnant?"
Jiang Muyang frowned slightly and said calmly: "Really? But in Yichen's humble opinion, the little master should have had the monthly letter a few days ago, but the irregular monthly letter showed signs of late arrival. It should be due to taking medicine.
"It's because of that." He then added: "More than a month ago, my little master Rong Hua asked me for a recipe for postponing my monthly letters. He said that the date of my monthly letters was often inaccurate and it was difficult to get pregnant. Although I knew it was inappropriate, my little master
She kept saying that it was for the sake of the royal heirs, so I had to give her the prescription. As for the vomiting and eating soreness, I don't know." The implication is that Meizhuang pretended to be pregnant.
Meizhuang was shocked and angry. He no longer cared about being reserved, and cried to Xuan Ling: "I once asked Imperial Physician Jiang for a prescription in private, but this prescription can help pregnancy, not delay the pregnancy. I am really unjust.
ah."
Xuan Ling had no expression on his face and just looked at her and said: "Where Fang Zi is, you can tell it clearly just by looking at the black and white writing on the paper."
Meizhuang said to Bai Ling: "Go to my bedroom and get the prescription from the bottom of the dowry box on the dressing table." Then he said to Xuan Ling: "I understand that giving and receiving things privately is against the palace rules. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Concubine Hua didn't take it seriously. She took a sip of tea and said slowly: "That's right. The crime of giving or receiving privately is much smaller than pretending to be pregnant to fight for favor."
Meizhuang lay on the ground and did not dare to argue, so he could only swallow his anger for the time being.
Bai Ling came back in a hurry after a while, with a look of panic that could not be suppressed, and she said in a voiceless voice: "Miss, there is no such thing!" She took out the dowry box together.
Meizhuang's body was trembling slightly. He grabbed the dowry box and opened it with a "snap". With a shake of his hand, the jewelry in the box had scattered and rolled away. The glittering and translucent jewelry was scattered all over the floor, piercing his eyes.
Unable to open it, Mei Zhuang was extremely frightened and hurriedly turned over it, but there was no trace of paper anywhere.
The veins on Xuan Ling's forehead popped out, and his lips pursed tightly into a thin line, and shouted: "Stop looking for me!" Without looking back, he said to Li Chang: "Go and find Liu Fan for me. If he dares to delay and resist, he will be tied up immediately.
!”
Li Chang was already sweating and said softly: "When I went to ask for Dr. Jiang just now, I also ordered people to go and ask for Dr. Liu, but Dr. Liu's house has long been empty."
Xuan Ling was furious, "Okay! Okay! A good man is gone!" He turned to Meizhuang and said: "He is a fellow countryman of yours, right? He was recommended by you to serve, right?"
Meizhuang had never seen Xuan Ling speak so harshly. He was so frightened that he was trembling all over and could not speak.
I closed my eyes slightly and sighed in my heart, Meizhuang has been framed!
If nothing else, that's all, but I have seen this prescription before. Not to mention whether this prescription delays menstruation or helps pregnancy, but its disappearance only lets me know that Mei Zhuang is innocent. In addition,
But at this time Liu Fan also disappeared. All the piles pointed towards Meizhuang.
Apart from her, I was the only one who had seen that prescription.
I bent my knees slightly and was about to kneel down to speak for Meizhuang. Now only I have seen the prescription, so I can prove that Meizhuang was framed and that she is innocent.
Meizhuang and I knelt side by side and just said, "Your Majesty——"
Xuan Ling looked at me closely, and his tone was as cold as ice: "Whoever dares to plead for Shen will be treated as guilty."
Meizhuang's favor before had attracted everyone's attention, and it was too late to rejoice when something happened to her. Now that Xuan Ling said this, no one was willing to plead for mercy. I saw her miserable look, and I couldn't hold it back. Just when I was about to say it again, my sleeves
My hand was covered by Meizhuang's wide skirt. Her hand was cold and smooth, and she was holding my hand tightly under the skirt. I knew that she didn't want me to say anything anymore. Besides, it would only hurt myself and save her in the future.
The chance is gone.
Qin Fangyi glanced at me and said: "Your Majesty, Zhen Jieyu has always been on good terms with Shen Ronghua. I don't know what happened today..."
Xuan Ling shouted loudly and glared at her angrily: "Shut up!" Qin Fangyi was immediately frightened into silence and did not dare to speak any more.
She is also a confused person, and wanting to add insult to injury under such circumstances will only add fuel to the fire and make Xuan Ling angry at her.
Seeing this, everyone hurriedly knelt down and asked Xuan Ling to calm down.
His nose was slightly open and closed, and his gaze fell on Meizhuang's hair. He couldn't help but look sideways. The palace was as bright as day, and the hairpin on Meizhuang's bun was the red gold and wishful hairpin given by the Queen Mother. It is even more dazzling under the candlelight.
It was too late for Meizhuang to take off the hairpin and apologize. Xuan Ling had already reached out and pulled out the red gold and wishful hairpin and threw it on the ground. The hairpin fell on the gold brick floor, shining with a cold and dazzling light under the candlelight. Xuan Ling said: "You deceived me and the Queen Mother, how dare you wear this hairpin to show off!" The momentum came so fast that Mei Zhuang couldn't dodge it, and she didn't dare to dodge it. Her bun was scattered like clouds and black hair was scattered like grass, which made her look as white as snow. Zhang's pretty face was as stiff as a corpse.
The queen tried her best to persuade her: "If the emperor is angry, Shen Ronghua will not dare to argue. Please take care of the dragon body."
Xuan Ling calmed down and said to Meizhuang: "I have always valued your stability, but I didn't know that you could be so unbearable and insist on pretending to be pregnant to win favor. I am extremely disappointed."
Meizhuang did not dare to defend himself, but kowtowed with tears and repeatedly said, "Unjustly accused."
I can't bear it any longer. It's a small matter to be wronged. What if Xuan Ling wants to kill Meizhuang in anger? No! I can't just watch Meizhuang die.
I rushed in front of Meizhuang and said with tears: "Your Majesty does not allow me to ask for love, and I dare not go against His Majesty's will. I just ask His Majesty to think twice about Shen Ronghua. Even if Shen Ronghua makes a big mistake, please remember that Ronghua served the Emperor in the past." I am considerate and considerate. I entered the palace on the same day as Rong Hua. I know very well who Rong Hua is. Even if Rong Hua has done something wrong today, please give the emperor a chance to change his ways. What's more, although Shen Ronghua is letting The emperor is angry, but if one day the emperor thinks of Rong Hua's slightest benefit, but never sees each other again, how can the emperor feel so embarrassed?" After saying that, his forehead was pressed against the cold brick ground and he refused to raise his head.
The Queen also sighed and said: "Zhen Jieyu's words are also reasonable. What Shen Ronghua did today was just because he was too eager to have children. I hope the Emperor will take care of the old relationship."
I don’t know if it was the words of the queen and I that moved Xuan Ling. He was silent for a while and then said: "Rong Hua Shen has no words and deeds. She has been demoted to permanent residence and is under house arrest in Yurun Hall. No one is allowed to visit her under my order."
I breathed out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, as long as my life is still there, I will surely rise again.
Li Chang asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, please tell me, Liu Wei and the palace maid named Fuling..."
"Purchase Liu Fan to survive. That palace maid..." His eyes sharpened, and he said one word: "Kill."