The capital, the Imperial Palace!

The twilight was deep, and the deep palace was silent, except for the occasional sound of insects and frogs, only the pro-soldiers who patrolled the night walked through one luxurious palace after another with uniform steps. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

At this moment, most of the concubines had already fallen asleep, but a rush of footsteps disrupted Queen Xie's sweet dream. The palace maid hurriedly turned on the dim oil lamp, and opened the ice silk gauze tent, which was as thin as cicada wings and as soft as green smoke, and whispered in the ear of Queen Xie, who had her eyes slightly closed: "Niangniang, the crown princess is asking to see you outside!"

Empress Xie was suddenly awakened, only to feel a splitting headache. She frowned, rubbed the corners of her forehead, and said impatiently: "Can't you wait until tomorrow for anything, I want to enter the palace overnight......"

The palace maid accompanied the smiling face and whispered: "The princess has a sallow face, her eyes are swollen from crying, and it makes people feel distressed to look at it. ”

Empress Xie tugged at the corners of her mouth, showed a sneer, and said impatiently: "What's important, it's nothing more than which girl the prince has taken a fancy to, and this one is jealous and came to the palace for comment." ”

The palace maid lowered her eyes and did not dare to answer.

"Let her in!"

Empress Xie rolled over and sat up, and as she moved, the golden tassel hanging under the gauze tent began to sway slightly. The huge ice sculpture in the urn opposite had half melted, and the sound of water dripping from time to time sounded in the spacious and silent dormitory.

Another palace maid brought a cup of chilled honey water, and Queen Xie lazily stretched out her hand to take a cup and took a few sips, and the cold and moist honey instantly dispelled her sleepiness.

Before the honey was completely swallowed, I saw the princess hurrying over. Although she was well-dressed, her sideburns were wet with sweat, and her eyes were a little red and swollen. Although it is not as exaggerated as the palace maid said, it is faintly embarrassed.

Seeing Empress Xie, the crown princess knelt down with a puff, fell on her knees and sobbed: "Auntie, you have to be the master for me......!

A trace of impatience passed from Empress Xie's eyes, she stretched out her hand coated with bright red Kodan and patted it lightly on the crown princess's shoulder, and said kindly: "Child, don't worry, drink honey water first to calm down, and then talk well." With Empress Xie's movements, a pair of lustrous jade bracelets on her wrists collided with each other and made a nice crisp sound.

The palace maid on the side was very eye-catching, and hurriedly stepped forward to hold the crown princess's arm. The crown princess stood up, she pulled out her handkerchief and pressed the moist corners of her eyes, and then sat down on the round pier of pear carved marble beside her.

Immediately, a palace maid brought honey water.

Coming in a hurry, the crown princess happened to feel thirsty, so she hurriedly picked up the cold honey water and took several sips.

Empress Xie was looking at her quietly, this crown princess was her niece's niece, and she was naturally beautiful, bright and moving. She has been married to the crown prince Liu Yi for ten years, and gave birth to the prince's eldest daughter Liu Mingzhu, but her domineering temperament of being sour and jealous is still not restrained at all.

Originally, as the daughter of the lord of the Xie family, if she married into the ordinary noble family, she might be obedient to her husband's suppression. It's a pity that the person she married was the crown prince, the second most noble person in the entire Eastern Qin. No matter how noble her status is, she is still inferior to the prince after all, and she is unwilling to compromise and seek perfection, so she relies on her identity and often comes to thank the queen when she is wronged in front of the prince.

Empress Xie had to be patient and appeased, so she saw her standing up with the palace maid's elbow and sitting down beside the crown princess. She gently held the crown princess's hand and opened her mouth kindly: "Good boy, but the prince made you angry again?"

Xu Wei had just served the ice bowl, it was obviously the height of summer, and the hands of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were full of coldness.

The crown princess's lips were deflated, and she just wanted to open her mouth to complain, but she heard Queen Xie continue to joke: "Yan'er, for your aunt's sake, don't worry about him." ”

The crown princess shook her head, the red gold inlaid jewels on her hair bun reflected a dazzling luster under the lamplight, and she complained sharply: "Auntie, it's not that Yan'er wants to argue with the prince, he is usually a side concubine on his left, and another aunt is going to the house to pick up, Yan'er can't bear to stop complaining, just wait for him to be fresh, and then find an excuse to send those women out." But this time, the crown prince he, he ...... I actually hit Zilian with the idea......"

"Purple Lotus ......" When Empress Xie heard this, her brows couldn't help but twist, and she asked tentatively: "But the queen mother gave the palace maid who is responsible for taking care of Mingzhu?"

"Exactly!"

The crown princess gritted her teeth and said angrily: "Auntie, you said that the prince can't find anyone, but he went to his daughter's room to pull people, if this word spreads, what kind of system will it be......"

"Shut up!" Empress Xie's face suddenly froze, and the exit interrupted the crown princess's next chatter!

It was extremely difficult for the crown princess to see Empress Xie's fierce side, her heart jumped, and she was busy shutting down.

Empress Xie glanced lightly at the palace maid beside her, picked up the ice bowl and took another sip of honey. The palace maids immediately quit the dormitory, and only the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from the same gate were left in the huge room.

The crown princess saw that Queen Xie, who had always been kind, had a gloomy and unpredictable face at the moment, and she couldn't help but be a little scared in her heart, and she said curtly: "Auntie, but what did Yan'er say wrong?"

Empress Xie raised her eyes and looked at the crown princess in front of her, her face was slightly gloomy, and she slowed down her tone and said: "Yan'er, you are the daughter of the Xie family and the only princess, you have to take a long-term view, you can't just focus on those women in the mansion."

The crown prince will inherit the throne in the future, and then you will be the queen who will not let go, and as for those women, they will all bow down in front of you, so why do you have to compete with them for this favor. ”

The crown princess lowered her head, wrung her handkerchief vigorously, and muttered: "My aunt has said this countless times, and Yan'er has also learned to turn a blind eye to those women in the backyard." But Zilian, after all, she is a person in the Pearl House, and she was given by the Queen Mother who loves Mingzhu herself, how can there be a reason for a father to go to his daughter's house to pull people, and the prince does this......"

Empress Xie said with some annoyance: "Yan'er, since you know that the crown prince Na Zilian will damage his reputation, you should help the prince cover up this matter, instead of making a big deal about it." If this matter accidentally reaches the ears of the emperor, it will inevitably be idle again. ”

"Yan'er knows it's wrong!" the princess reluctantly agreed. But she looked at Queen Xie's eyes with tears in her eyes, and said with a pitiful and aggrieved look: "What should I do next, and ask my aunt to help Yan'er get an idea." ”

Empress Xie smiled slightly, lowered her eyes and flicked the pair of jade bracelets on her wrists, and after half a ring, she said coldly: "The prince's reputation must not be damaged, that purple lotus girl is wronged, let her fall and drown!"

"It's still my aunt who has an idea, unlike Yan'er who panicked when she got into trouble!" The crown princess's eyes flashed with a flash of joy after her success, but she said it very humbly.

"Alright! Alright! It's not early, so you better get out of the palace early. Queen Xie waved her hand impatiently, and did not forget to advise: "Remember, your hands and feet must be clean, and there must be no rumors that are unfavorable to the prince." ”

The crown princess was instructed by Empress Xie and left with great ambition. Empress Xie lost her sleepiness and lay on the wide bed, but she could no longer sleep.

A palace maid knelt at the head of the bed, carefully kneading her shoulders, while another little palace maid held a white jade hammer and gently tapped her legs. The room was silent, except for the occasional sound of water droplets of ice sculptures melting. The plain white moonlight shines through the window lattices on the delicate gold carpet in the hall, adding a layer of silver to the luxury of the room.

The whispering of the night watchman suddenly sounded under the corridor, and a trace of sharpness flashed in Empress Xie's eyes, she raised her hand slightly, and immediately a palace maid raised her voice and asked, "What happened outside?"

After half a ring, a palace maid on night duty hurriedly came in, and after curtsimming, she approached in small steps and whispered a few words in Queen Xie's ear.

Empress Xie's half-closed eyes opened suddenly, and she said suspiciously: "Didn't you say that the emperor had a head attack and didn't let the concubine sleep, why did he go to Concubine Shu's palace again?"

The palace maid whispered: "I heard that the emperor couldn't sleep at night because of a head disease, so he took a walk in the imperial garden, and happened to meet Concubine Shu feeding fish by the lotus pond, so the emperor followed Concubine Shu back to the palace." ”

"It turns out that someone is dead wood in spring!" Empress Xie commented viciously.

She lowered her eyes and nodded slowly: "Concubine Shu is also an old man from the mansion, she has been neglected by the emperor for so long, so she is naturally lonely, so she will come out in the middle of the night to feed the fish." ”

The palace maid pursed her lips and whispered: "I'm afraid that with the precedent of the lady concubine, the masters in the harem will be worried that the fish in the lotus pond will be hungry, and they will all run to feed in the middle of the night." ”

Empress Xie smiled coldly and said: "This crooked wind must not be long, tomorrow let the eunuchs fish all the fish in the lotus pond, burn it and send it to the palaces, even if it is a dish." A hint of resentment and mockery flashed in her eyes, and then she quickly returned to her usual gentle and dignified appearance.

"Yes!" the palace maid respectfully stepped back and conveyed the queen's decree to the eunuchs outside.

Empress Xie was completely insomnia, her thoughts were already filled with memories, until a faint blue light slowly appeared in the sky, and she still did not feel the slightest sleep.

Early in the morning of the second day, the emperor hurriedly left the harem after breakfast to go to the morning court. After washing, she slowly walked out of the dormitory, but saw a low-level eunuch and palace maid kneeling in the courtyard. Concubine Shu was caught off guard and was bluffed. She was puzzled, "What are you doing here?"

I saw the leading eunuch walk a few steps on his knees, and said with a flushed face and extremely excited: "Congratulations to Niangniang, congratulations to Niangniang!" ”

Concubine Shu's mind turned, and she immediately understood what they meant, she couldn't help but hook the corners of her lips to show a sarcastic smile, and said slowly: "I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you, although the emperor occasionally came to stay overnight last night, it doesn't mean that the palace has turned over since then." ”

The leading eunuch looked at Concubine Shu's face, and said carefully: "Niangniang is joking, the emperor came late at night, and he must be thinking about Niangniang." After all, it came out of the mansion, and the emperor will not miss the old love. ”

Concubine Shu shook her head calmly and said: "What is the emperor's holy will, how can you and I guess in vain, I advise you to do whatever you should do, so as not to be reprimanded and punished by the internal affairs office steward again." ”

"Yes......"

Concubine Shu kept a proper smile and watched everyone in the courtyard retreat. When I raised my eyes, I saw several palace maids with complicated and delicate clothes carrying food boxes and slowly swallowing into the courtyard.