Just when she was about to thank her, a frail woman's voice floated up behind her: "Zhen Jieyu was with me that night. Devouring Novel www."
Hearing this, he was startled and instinctively turned his head to look. It was Concubine Duan who was standing outside the Shende Hall, being supported by the maids on the left and right.
I was slightly dazed and couldn't turn around in a hurry.
Concubine Duan came in slowly and shakily wanted to salute. Xuan Ling said, "Didn't I tell you earlier that I wanted you to abstain from the ceremony?" Fu You asked curiously, "Why did you come out? Didn't the imperial doctor tell you not to go out in the heat?"
In the meantime, a palace maid had brought a big rosewood chair to invite her to sit down.
Concubine Duan said: "I just came here not long ago. I saw something big happened in the hall, so I stopped for a while and didn't dare to come in."
The queen sighed and said: "Concubine Duan, is it better not to see you for a long time?"
Concubine Duan sat in front of the empress, bowed and said respectfully: "I should have been here to pay my respects to the Emperor and Empress every day, but I feel so ashamed because I am not well. I heard that Emperor Wen Yi was not feeling well this morning, and I was worried, so I hurriedly came to see her."
Then he smiled at Xuan Ling and said, "Fortunately, I'm here, otherwise I'm afraid this Shende Hall would have to sing "The Injustice of Dou E"."
Xuan Ling said: "Concubine Duan just said that she was with Zhen Jieyu that night. Is it true?"
Concubine Duan smiled faintly and said eloquently: "Ye Chen's concubine saw Jieyu coming out of Fuli Palace alone from a distance and seemed to be drunk. She was worried for a moment, so she went to see Jieyu with her maid. She met Jieyu at Yudai Bridge by Fanyue Lake, and together we
We walked to my concubine's Yuhua Pavilion and had a very pleasant chat for a long time." Her smile was like a pale cloud, and she turned to the maid beside her and said, "As you wish."
The palace maid named "Ruyi" knelt down and said, "Yes. That night, the empress and the young master were discussing Buddhist scriptures in Yuhua Pavilion, and they got along very well. Later, the young master said that it was getting late, so he hurried back to Fuli Hall."
The queen said with a smile: "In this case, the matter of Emperor Wen Yi has nothing to do with Zhen Jieyu."
Concubine Hua turned her eyes sweetly, looked at Concubine Duan and said: "Sister Duan Concubine's arrival is really a coincidence, it's like a timely rain." She said with a half-smile but slightly raised her eyebrows, "I heard that my sister has been unwell so she is recuperating in the palace. Why are you doing that?
Why are you in such a good mood at night that you go out at night despite the imperial doctor's advice?"
Concubine Duan looked slightly shy and said calmly: "It is indeed not suitable for people who are chronically ill to go out. But being in the palace for a long time makes you very bored. I heard that there was a banquet in the palace that night, so I thought I would not disturb others, so I brought the palace maid with me.
Come out and relax." After saying that, he looked at me with a gentle smile, "I didn't expect that I and Zhen Jieyu would be so destined."
No matter how smart I am, I still know that Concubine Duan is helping me, but I don’t know why she helped me so suddenly, and I can’t figure out the whole context. However, I couldn’t allow me to think too much, so I smiled and said, “Yes. Concubine feels the same way.”
"Oh?" Concubine Hua narrowed her eyes slightly, and her long eyelashes cast a pair of crow-green arcs on the snow-white powder. The golden beads on her eyelashes seemed to be overwhelmed, and they shone so densely that they felt dazzling and distinct.
, Extraordinary luxury. She said: "Then I have a question, why didn't Jieyu tell the story of her encounter with Concubine Duan just now? There is no need to suffer all this in vain."
Just when Concubine Duan was about to speak, she suddenly choked and coughed, wheezing repeatedly, and pointed at me with her face flushed.
I understood immediately, and said without being humble or arrogant: "I should not have concealed the truth from the Emperor and the Empress, but I didn't want anyone to know that Concubine Duan was out that day, lest it get to the ears of the Emperor and Empress and make her worried, which would offend the Empress's heart. So.
That day, the empress and the concubine made an appointment so that no one else would know about it. Who expected that the emperor and concubine would be involved? The concubine thought that the emperor was wise and the queen was wise.
Concubine Duan, you are keeping your mouth shut."
Concubine Hua wanted to say something more, but Concubine Duan had recovered her breath and said slowly: "Why doesn't sister Hua Concubine believe it?"
Concubine Hua said: "It's not that my sister is suspicious, I just feel that my sister seems to be very familiar with Zhen Jieyu."
Concubine Duan smiled faintly, "I have only had a relationship with Jieyu once before. The first time I met was at Wen Yi's birthday ceremony. Does Concubine Hua mean that I intend to protect you by saying this?" She shook her head sadly, "I
A sick person should not be troubled, so why lie to protect a newly promoted Jieyu."
Seeing Concubine Duan's weak state and being so sad in front of Concubine Hua, everyone couldn't help but look sideways at Concubine Hua. Concubine Hua was speechless and could only say: "I didn't think so. Sister Duan Concubine is overly worried."
Xuan Ling ignored what the two of them said to each other, stood up and walked to me, stretched out his hand to pull me up, "Wei Changsheng Baozhu Xin 1, my Jieyu is not inferior to the ancients."
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. The marble floor was extremely hard. After kneeling for a long time, his legs had long lost consciousness. He gritted his teeth and pressed lightly on the ground with his hand. Fang took Xuan Ling's hand and struggled to stand up. He didn't want his knees to snap.
Softly, she leaned in his arms.
Under the gaze of everyone, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed, and her face started to heat up. Concubine Hua gritted her teeth slightly, turned away and stopped looking. The queen smiled and said: "Sit down first, and let the doctor take a good look at it later."
"My clothes are thin in summer, so don't do anything wrong by kneeling down." He said and glanced at Concubine Hua.
An attentive palace maid quickly put a chair beside Concubine Duan and asked me to sit down. When she saw that I was sitting well, Xuan Ling let go of my hand.
Concubine Duan turned her eyes and looked around at the maids standing behind the concubines. She coughed a few times and turned pale. She said slowly: "It's reasonable for Sister Hua not to believe what I said. Just now, I seemed to have heard a maid outside the hall saying that she saw Jieyu going to Yanyu that night.
In the direction of Zhai, it would be better to clarify it again to avoid any further entanglements on this matter in the future. I wonder what the emperor and empress do?"
The queen said: "Of course it's good." She said with a serious tone, "Which two people just testified against Zhen Jieyu? Come out on your own."
Immediately, two palace maids plopped down and knelt down on the ground. Their beautiful faces turned pale and they leaned over the ground. The queen said: "Did you both witness Zhen Jieyu entering Yanyuzhai with your own eyes?"
A palace maid said: "I saw Jieyu going towards Yanyuzhai. As for whether she went in...it seems...it seems?"
"What do you mean it seems? It's simply 'unfounded'." He looked at another palace maid, "What about you?"
She kowtowed her head lower and said in a panic: "I just saw Jieyu alone."
The queen ignored them and just said: "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Xuan Ling showed a look of disgust and said, "The queen will decide what to do. There is only one thing she can do. Don't condone the palace people's bad habit of making excuses."
The Queen ordered Jiang Fuhai beside her: "Pull them down and slap each of them fifty times to serve as a warning to others."
A loud and clear slap and the cry of a palace maid soon came from outside the window. Concubine Hua just turned a deaf ear. She turned her head and raised her eyelashes, quickly looked at Cao Jieyu, and then she sat down with her eyes down as if nothing had happened.
Cao Jieyu held Wen Yi in her arms and stepped forward in shame: "I wrongly blamed sister Jieyu just now. I'm really sorry."
I just shook my head: "No need. As a mother and sister, care will lead to chaos."
Concubine Hua forced a smile and said: "I just misunderstood Jieyu. It was because I cared about the emperor that I acted too hastily. Please don't take offense, Jieyu."
I smiled and looked at her: "How could it be? Your Majesty's thoughts are clear to me." Concubine Hua was choked by me and had no way to refute, so she could only say: "Jieyu understands."
The atmosphere was still a little stiff. Concubine Duan leaned on the chair and smiled softly at Xuan Ling: "I heard a beautiful song from Fuli Hall in the distance that day. It was very familiar to me. I wonder who sang it?"
Xuan Ling was slightly startled, but the Queen had already said before him: "She is the newly promoted Anmei. No wonder she sounds familiar to you from afar, she is the one who has been singing in the palace these days." After that, she called Lingrong forward to Concubine Duan.
Please greet me.
Concubine Duan held her hand and looked at her carefully for a while, then said: "She is very handsome. Congratulations to the Emperor for finding another beautiful woman."
Xuan Ling smiled and nodded, and I was secretly surprised. I had always thought that Concubine Duan was weak, but unexpectedly she was thoughtful and calm. However, when it came to compliments, she only said "Congratulations to the Emperor for winning another beautiful woman." After congratulating me, I congratulated again.
The mausoleum is really nothing new.
Xuan Ling personally sent me back to Yifu Hall before returning to Shuilv Nanxun Hall to handle government affairs.
After sitting for a while, I guessed that even though Concubine Duan was walking slowly, she would have passed the Mirror Bridge in front of the Yifu Hall, so she took Jinxi and walked out slowly. As expected, she saw Concubine Duan walking slowly on a shoulder carriage.
Yili stood aside and waited for the carriage to pass. When Concubine Duan saw me, she called out "stop", took the palace maid's shoulder and got off the carriage and said, "What a coincidence. Why don't you, Jieyu, accompany me for a walk."
As promised. Along the way, we walked farther and farther under the shade of tung trees and dense phoenix tails. The surroundings were quiet and only the chirping of birds could be heard. The personal maid followed from a distance. I half-supported Concubine Duan's arm and said softly: "Thank you very much, Concubine Duan, for being my concubine today."
I came to the rescue. It’s just..."
She just walked forward and said after a moment: "You don't need to thank me, I want to help you have your own principles."
I looked at her doubtfully, "Do you believe that your concubines are innocent?"
Her smile was as light as a floating cloud, and she said gently: "I saw you coming alone from the direction of Tonghua Terrace and passing by the entrance of my palace. If I calculated the time carefully, I knew it was not you."
I said, "I was so busy that day that I didn't see your Majesty greeting your Majesty. It was really rude. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
"It's okay. I just heard the moving singing, so I stopped for a moment outside the palace gate to listen carefully." She sighed, then smiled slightly: "An Meiren's singing voice is so young, it makes me feel that time has passed so quickly.
.”
I smiled and said, "Your Majesty is as beautiful as a flower in her prime, how can she lament the time."
She smiled: "How can I be so beautiful?" As she spoke, her eyes were firmly locked on my face.
I was embarrassed when she looked at me, so I whispered: "Ms. Duan Fei."
She composed herself and Fang Wenwen said: "Jieyu is truly beautiful. No wonder the emperor likes you so much."
I said humbly: "Your Majesty, you are making fun of me."
She rested on a bamboo pole leaning against the beauty by the lake, "That day I saw Jieyu looking in a hurry, but with a sad look on her face. I don't know why?" I hesitated for a moment and she said, "Jieyu doesn't want to say anything.
It doesn’t matter. Although I don’t usually interact with others, I have heard a little bit about the affairs in the palace, so I don’t know anything about it.”
I was unintentionally playing with the concentric knotted silk ribbon on my skirt, looking at the lake and mountains in the distance. The lotus flowers in half of the lake were already green, fat, red and thin, giving the impression of withering. I just kept silent.
Concubine Duan's eyes were clear and clear, her long black hair was pulled up into a high bun, and her temples were also a cold emerald color with a faint halo, "Jieyu, why do you need to be so sad? I, the concubine.
I am a person who avoids the world, so there are some things I don’t need to say. But Jieyu should understand that the love between men in ancient times is nothing more than "walking in the heart of the day, going east and returning to the west"2, let alone the king of a country.
What? If Jieyu is sad, she is only making things difficult for herself."
Feeling dissatisfied, he asked, "Is there no emperor who loves only one person?"
Concubine Duan said a lot in one breath, panting, but still with a smile on her face: "The late emperor loved Concubine Shu so much, not only did he have the queen mother, all the concubines, and so many children. The king's unsteadiness is more than ordinary.
Man, you have to be open-minded. Otherwise, you will only suffer."
I said: "Yes. Everything the queen said makes sense. I understand."
Concubine Duan said: "Whether you care or not is the second best thing. It's best if Jieyu understands."
Concubine Duan stopped talking for a long time, concentrating on watching the big and small red carps swimming in the lake. I also picked a green willow branch and played with it in my hand. I brushed the long willow branch and teased the gossamer-like water plants in the water, and they became entangled. Concubine Duan watched carefully.
Parading with the little carp behind the big carp, he unconsciously said in a tone of pity, "Empress Wen Yi is very cute, but unfortunately she had a tragic fate."
I heard what she said was strange, so I smiled and said, "Why did Concubine Duan say such a thing? Although the Emperor is weak, she is also a golden branch and has the protection of gods and Buddhas."
Concubine Duan looked a little disappointed, and suddenly showed a look of disgust: "The gods and Buddhas in the sky only know how to enjoy the incense, so how can they have time to care about the sufferings of the world? What's more, if the little devil is in trouble, I'm afraid the gods and Buddhas can't protect you."
I was secretly dumbfounded, thinking that Concubine Duan looked weak but had such a strong temper, and I couldn't help but grow fond of her.
She continued: "Cao Qinmo could not have given birth to this child. She was pregnant at the wrong time. She was born prematurely and had an abnormal fetal position, which almost cost her life. So the emperor loves this child very much." She sighed, "
The children in this palace seem to be noble, but in fact they are in more trouble than the children outside."
I knew that Concubine Duan had been childless for many years and was particularly sensitive about the issue of heirs. I comforted her by saying, "Your Majesty has a kind heart, so she should take good care of her. Only by keeping her body healthy can she give birth to a prince and an empress for the emperor as soon as possible."
Concubine Duan smiled bitterly: "I accept Jieyu's good words. But I'm afraid I won't be so lucky."
I felt sad when I heard the words, but I didn't feel very surprised and said: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, why bother saying such unlucky words."
She looked up at the sky and said faintly: "If this wish is granted, Yue Bin is willing to lose ten years of his life." After saying that, she turned her head sadly, her face as thin as a piece of white paper under the bright sunlight, "I'm afraid that even if I lose half my life, I can't.
I got what I wanted.”
Maybe she has a hidden illness and is not suitable for pregnancy, so I can't help but feel sorry for her secretly.
She didn't say anything further and said to me: "This matter is aimed at Jieyu. Jieyu is good at taking care of herself. I can protect you for a while, but I can't do this for everything."
I said, "Yes. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. I will come and visit you when you have time."
She shook her head, maybe because she was feeling unwell, and her voice became fainter, "No need. It is difficult to see people with my broken body during the illness. Besides..." She looked at me politely and said softly: "It will only be more beneficial for me and Jieyu not to meet each other.
"
Although I didn't understand it, I felt that Concubine Duan had a profound meaning in her behavior, and it was unexpected. So I nodded and said, "Yes."
As she spoke, Concubine Duan's breathing became more and more rapid. The maid next to her hurriedly stepped forward and took out a porcelain bottle and fed her two black pills to swallow. She smiled and said to me: "Return to my little master Jieyu, the time for the empress to take the medicine is coming soon.
"
I half-kneeled and said, "I won't bother you, concubine. I send you my best regards."
She forced a smile and nodded, struggled to help the little palace maid's hand, put her on the carriage and walked away.
Note:
1. Wei Sheng hugs the pillar: Wei Sheng is a model of trustworthiness. "Wei Sheng and the girl meet under the bridge. If the girl doesn't come, the water will not go away. Wei Sheng hugs the pillar and dies." - "Historical Records: Biography of Su Qin"
2 From "Midnight Song". The full text is as follows: "I am the North Star, and it has not moved for thousands of years. I happily travel to the heart of the day, heading east and returning to the west at dusk." It describes a man who is unlucky and unlucky.