In the afternoon, when the lights are not turned on, most of the palaces in the palace are dimly lit.
Although there is no shortage of expensive candles in the Queen's palace, in the past ten years, even though a steady stream of good things have been sent to her, the Queen has never lived extravagantly, and no lamps are lit in the palace until dark.
On the bed in the side hall, the brazier next to it gave off a little heat, and the incense was burning. The queen, who had just woken up from a nap, slowly got up and drank fragrant tea under the service of several palace maids, and had people gently press the acupuncture points with their fingers.
I feel my groggy head feels better.
She fell asleep again just now, and as before, she still didn't dream about the prince.
I wonder if the palace is special. She has been thinking about it day and night for more than ten years, but she can only dream of her son a handful of times.
You can't see it when you wake up, and you can't dream about it when you fall asleep. Only when you look at the portrait alone can you calm down the pain in your heart.
As the hot tea entered her throat, the queen's expression was light, neither sad nor happy.
It wasn't until the female officer Zhaoxia came in briskly, followed by two eunuchs carrying a small basket. This unusual little thing made the queen look over in confusion.
"What is this?" the queen asked slowly.
The female officer Zhao Xia smiled brightly and said: "Go back to your Majesty, this is a frozen pear."
"Frozen pears?" The queen's eyes fell on the small bamboo basket whose lid had been opened. There were almost hundreds of frozen pears in a small basket with a slightly pointed tip. They all looked fresh and delicious, even though there were not many.
, but this is how it is in the palace. When giving something away, you should pay attention to the best quality, not the largest quantity.
Thinking that this was another thing sent by the previous emperor, the Queen asked casually: "Oh? Who sent it?"
I planned to have someone carry the frozen pears down.
But I heard the female officer in front of me reply: "Hui Niang, I sent it on behalf of the Duke."
"Duke Daiguo?" As soon as he heard these words, something was different immediately. The faint queen was startled. Although she didn't have much expression, Zhaoxia had been following her for many years, and she knew at a glance that the original faint smile was no longer a decoration, but a
Joy from the inside out.
"He sent it to me? This kid has a lot of intentions." She nodded and said immediately.
Being able to serve at the Queen's side, who doesn't have good eyes to see the Queen's face? From this look, you can tell that the Queen is very happy that Dai Guogong has sent frozen pears.
Zhaoxia continued to smile and said: "Not only that, Duke Dai also sent me a painting, please take a look."
After saying that, she looked behind the two little eunuchs carrying the basket. The queen also looked over and found that there were others following her, holding a long brocade box in their hands.
"A painting?" The queen's heart moved.
While talking, Zhaoxia, with the help of the palace servants, carefully took out the painting from the wooden box and unfolded it bit by bit in front of the queen.
Although the light was already dim at this time, people nearby could still see clearly once the painting was unfolded, and they all held their breath.
The queen just glanced at the content on it and stood up immediately. In a few steps, she came to the painting. She gently touched the painting with her fingers and looked at it carefully. Her eyes gradually became moist.
"This child...this child..."
She spoke softly without blinking.
It turned out that the painting was an ink painting. It showed two men, one big and one small, kneeling in front of a woman. The woman, looking down at the two of them, unfolded a piece of clothing at the same time.
He also mentioned a few poems:
"Mother hands line, wandering clothing."
"Departure thick seam, meaning fear of delay in return."
"Whoever speaks of the heart of an inch of grass will be rewarded with three rays of spring."
It is strange to say that this is an ink painting, and ink painting is generally about a kind of artistic conception, and it is not too similar to real people, but whether it is the queen who is looking at this painting at this time, or the palace who is also looking at this painting
When people saw this painting, they all had a thought: "It's so similar!"
Like who?
Of course, he looks like the prince, the Duke of Dai, and the queen!
Even though the appearance and clothing of the three people in this ink painting are all outlined in a few strokes, which is not realistic at all, it can still make people recognize at once that the woman unfolding her clothes is the queen, and the adult man kneeling in front of the woman,
He is the prince, and the child who is kneeling next to him is the Duke of Dai.
"It's so lifelike." Many people marveled in their hearts.
When such a painting fell in the eyes of the queen, she was not only amazed, but also filled with all kinds of thoughts in her heart.
Thinking about how easily he could not see his beloved son even in his dreams, thinking about how his beloved son was still worried about him, thinking about the little grandson who was thrown to death despite not seeing him a few times but loving him very much, thinking about several people who, although they were scheming with each other, had no feelings for him.
The wives and concubines of the Prince's Mansion, who were respectful and filial, had been sad, painful, and forbearing for more than ten years. When they read "I am afraid that I will return later", I burst into tears.
The queen, who always pays attention to her image, burst into tears and covered her mouth while sobbing.
Most of the others knew what happened back then, and all the loyal servants had red eyes.
No one persuaded the empress that crying bitterly like this might not be a way of venting her anger. It would be too painful for the empress who usually endured it.
They saw it in their eyes and felt pain in their hearts.
After a long time, the queen wiped away her tears and asked, "Where is Duke Dai now?"
Since he sent frozen pears and paintings, he must be in the palace as well.
Zhaoxia replied: "Go back to your Majesty, Duke Dai is currently meeting with the Emperor and has not left the palace yet."
"Put this painting away first and put it in my private treasury for safekeeping."
"Prepare the chariot, I am going to see the emperor."
After the queen said this, she asked the palace maid to bring hot water, carefully removed the traces of crying on her face with a towel, and put on makeup again.
"Let's go." The chariot was ready. Naturally, she couldn't wait a moment and wanted to see her grandson immediately.
The afternoon sun shines on the phoenix chariot, and the person sitting on it has a calm expression with a hint of urgency.
When passing by a fork in the palace in front, I saw two palace men turning from the side road. Seeing the phoenix chariot approaching, they hurriedly knelt down by the road without daring to raise their heads.
She looked like an ordinary palace maid, but she didn't know if she just came from the front.
The queen withdrew her gaze and paid no attention to it.
After the phoenix chariot passed by, the two palace men got up cautiously, sighed at each other, and continued walking in the direction of Pixiang Palace.
"It's not easy for the princess to enter the palace now. I don't know if the empress will be sad if she knows that the princess can't come."
"There is nothing we can do about it. In the palace gate, we spend some money on slaves coming in and out, but it's not that we won't let them go. However, the princess has been banned by the emperor several times before. Using this matter as an excuse, the people in the palace gate simply don't give up.
I just blocked it on purpose."
"Our manager of Pixiang Palace asked to see the emperor before, but he was stopped. He said that the emperor was busy with government affairs and had no time to see him. Alas, slaves like us have nothing to do."
"At first glance, it seems that the empress in the palace did it..."
Do you know what else can be done?
Because the Empress Wu they serve has fallen out of favor, Princess Xinping has even been deprived of her palace order and can only come once or twice in a few months. Compared with last year, the treatment is as good as in the sky and in the quagmire.
The empress's birthday is coming soon. In the past, the emperor would reward Concubine Wu and give her some grace. However, this year, as the day approaches, there is no movement in the imperial city. It really complies with the saying: one can only see a person's heart when he is down.
In the past, the people who praised Pixiang Palace, not to mention the low-ranking concubine, even the eunuchs began to have an arrogant attitude.
This time they were ordered to leave the palace and go to the princess mansion to meet Princess Xinping. They found that the princess had lost a lot of weight compared to the past. It seemed that life had been difficult for the mother and daughter since they fell out of favor.
"If it really doesn't work, we might as well go and ask the Queen..." A palace maid suddenly said, thinking of the phoenix chariot that had just passed by.
On the birthday of Empress Wu, Princess Xinping entered the palace to celebrate. Isn't this normal?
If the emperor doesn't see the people from Pixiang Palace, the queen can't also see him?
As long as the Queen has spoken, the concubines who are jealous of the Queen's favor in the past and are now getting worse will have to weigh it, right?
But as soon as he said these words, he was immediately scolded by his companion: "Don't make a fool of yourself! The emperor has decreed that you are not allowed to disturb the queen with such things. If the emperor finds out, I'm afraid even our queen will be in trouble too."
, don’t mention this matter again!”
But there was really nothing else they could do. The two sighed again and hurried back with ugly faces.
The phoenix chariot that just passed by quickly arrived at the main hall in front.
With the support of the female officer Zhaoxia, the queen got down from the phoenix chariot and walked up the steps step by step. She heard a faint voice inside, and her face relaxed: "It seems it's not too late, and no one has left yet."
Seeing the eunuch beside her smiling and saluting as she wanted to go in to report, she shook her head at him. The eunuch hesitated for a moment and did not dare to move. He could only watch the queen walk in accompanied by the female officer.
As soon as she entered the inner hall, she heard her grandson smiling apologetically and saying, "Sun Chen loves calligraphy and painting. Please give me this instead."
Then the emperor laughed and cursed, sounding very angry: "You boy, you look respectful, but in fact you are very cunning! Can you exchange the things given by the emperor? Why do you think it is called golden words?"
It didn't sound like he was angry.
At this time, the queen had already walked in. When they saw her coming in, they both sat and stood up in shock.
The queen seemed puzzled and asked: "What can't be changed?"
"Queen, you are here." Seeing her sudden arrival, the emperor stood up with a smile on his face, stopped her from saluting, and held her hand, looking up and down.
"There is less snow now, but the rain is the coldest. Did you catch a cold when you came here in the rain?"
"My concubine came here in the chariot, but she didn't catch any cold." The queen smiled gently.
Su Ziji came to see the gift at this time. The queen accepted it and let him get up. She looked at the child with a smile and asked the emperor: "What were you talking about just now? But what did the emperor reward Duke Dai?"
The emperor snorted, clasped his hands behind his back, and said, "I rewarded him with a pavilion of paintings and calligraphy some time ago, but he still kept pushing further. Today, with a few baskets of frozen pears, he eagerly asked to exchange the original paintings and calligraphy for a pavilion, saying that he had appreciated them all.
Okay, is this really unreasonable?"
"Tell me, how can you still bargain for a replacement when you hand over the imperial gift?"
The queen covered her mouth and smiled: "So it's because of this? Duke Dai loves calligraphy and painting, and even his concubines know it. Since he wants to study, it is a good thing, so the emperor will allow it."
"You just dote on the children too much." The emperor sighed, but thought it was impossible, and then said: "But since you said it, just do it this way, hand it over, and I will reward him with another pavilion."
Su Ziji did not expect that the emperor would change his tune so quickly, and he would not look the same as when he had "gold words" with him.
He glanced around and saw the look in the emperor's eyes. He couldn't help but think to himself: "Does the old emperor also have the softest place in his heart?"
"But if that's the case, why did you do that to the prince?"