A touch of blue light gradually dispelled the darkness that entrenched in the sky, which represented the arrival of a new year. The palace maids and eunuchs of Fuxi Hall kowtowed to Concubine Shu, Liu Hui, Liu Shou, and Hua Lianyue respectively, and received four thick red envelopes before they retreated happily.

Liu Hui stood up and stretched his arms and stretched his waist, because of the pear blossom white after drinking all night, his cheeks were flushed at the moment, and his eyes were unusually bright.

Hua Lianyue had already taken off her coat to reveal a comfortable homely honey-colored skirt, a warm brocade jacket, and the cuffs and neckline were embroidered with intricate and gorgeous red pomegranate flowers. It seems that her waist is slender and slender, and her originally flat lower abdomen is slightly bulged like a blow, which makes her feel a little gentle and peaceful.

"After the New Year, you will be a year older again. Concubine Shu sighed softly, which also meant that she was one year older. Unconsciously raised her hand and touched her sideburns, although Mingyue always quietly hid the strands of white hair when she helped her comb her hair, how could she really not notice it.

Think about it, she has been in the rich cage of this vermilion wall glazed tile for more than 20 years, from the pampering and arrogance at the beginning, to the thin ice in the back, and then to the indifference now, several mental journeys have exhausted all her beautiful years as a woman.

Originally, there was still stubbornness and unwillingness hidden in her heart, but Liu Hui's words were like an empowerment, making the last bit of unwillingness in her heart gradually pass like time.

Right now, she is a little dazed, without those unwilling supports, she doesn't know how to survive the next few decades!

As soon as he didn't pay attention, Liu Hui's hand had already reached out in front of her, and he said with a smile: "Mother, where is my New Year's money?"

Concubine Shu was stunned for a moment, then slapped his palm, and said with a smile: "They are all people who are ready to be fathers, why are you still thinking about begging for New Year's money!" Although her tone was full of anger, her eyes were full of joy, the corners of her mouth were unconsciously upturned, and her smile couldn't be hidden.

Mingyue immediately took out the gifts that Concubine Shu had prepared a long time ago, and prepared a string of gold-inlaid Canaan wood Buddha beads for Liu Hui, a pair of poison-repellent rhino horn cups for Hua Lianyue, and a splendid fan pendant decorated with huge eastern beads for Liu Shou. Although it is not very precious, it shows that it took a lot of thought.

The three of them got the gift and immediately kowtowed to Concubine Shu to thank her, and Concubine Shu hurriedly smiled and let go. In the middle of the excitement, a little palace maid stumbled in the residual snow all the way.

Mingyue saw that her sideburns were unkempt and she looked like she was out of her mind, so she immediately stepped forward and scolded: "What are you doing in a panic, how can you be so undignified in front of Niangniang!"

The little palace maid hurriedly said: "Niangniang, something big has happened in the palace!"

The first thought that flashed through Hua Lianyue's heart was naturally that the prince was imprisoned last night and Li Zhaorong was demoted, which was a great event for any ordinary palace person. However, they had long known about it, so there was no curiosity on their faces.

However, the palace maid's next words still surprised them.

"The Queen Mother suddenly vomited blood and fainted this morning, and now the emperor has summoned all the imperial doctors into Cining Palace......."

Since the beginning of the Lunar New Year, the Queen Mother has been bedridden due to serious illness, and Concubine Shu, as a second-class concubine, must also serve in the Queen Mother's palace according to etiquette.

In fact, since the beginning of winter, as the weather has become colder and colder, the Queen Mother has been weak due to old age, and the invasion of wind and cold has caused her cough to worsen and gradually transform into lung disease.

As her symptoms worsened, she gradually coughed up blood, no matter how much medicine she used, the bleeding couldn't stop, but in just three days, she was already terminally ill, and even people couldn't recognize it.

When I woke up occasionally, I just talked to the emperor or empress, and the rest of the people basically couldn't even get close to the side. Therefore, Concubine Shu and the rest of the concubines were obviously sick, but in fact, they were waiting quietly in the side hall for the change in the Queen Mother's condition.

However, these flowers have no time to worry about it, because on the evening of the first day of the new year, the Weng Mansion in Willow Hutong sent a message, and the old general couldn't stay up after all. Hua Lianyue's heart was sour, so she changed into plain clothes and rushed to Willow Hutong, but because she was pregnant, she was afraid of rushing the child, so she was dissuaded by the Weng family's kind words outside the mourning hall. She inevitably shed some tears again, and since she returned to the palace, she has been worrying, and she can't be interested in doing anything.

Years later, Liu Hui became more and more busy, because the situation in the imperial court gradually became treacherous because the prince was imprisoned. Several forces began to compete in turns, some pleaded for the prince's exoneration, some took the opportunity to fall into the ground, and of course, there were those who only stood on the sidelines and watched.

Hua Lianyue wanted to wait for him to come back to talk, but she couldn't wait for a figure, only when she got up every morning and touched the warm quilt beside her, she knew that he had come back last night. Fortunately, Ye Wushuang was with her in the house, and Dashuang also came to visit every once in a while, so she was not so bored.

More than a month has passed, Liu Yi is the prince of a country, and the emperor has no plans to change the prince for the time being, so he moved him from Zongren Temple to the East Palace on the third day when the queen mother was seriously ill, but he continued to be grounded, which is equivalent to house arrest.

Because Liu Qi finally woke up on the second day of junior high school, but after all, because his head injury was too serious, the originally clever and lively child became an idiot and stupid. For this reason, Zhen Zhaoyi naturally hated the prince and the queen's party, so the family behind her became the backbone of the secret overthrow of the prince.

On this day, Liu Hui finally came back early, but Hua Lianyue was half-leaning on the warm couch and sleeping soundly with her eyes closed, holding a half-embroidered handkerchief in her hand. Liu Hui casually took off his clothes that were soaked in the spring rain, and glanced at Xiaoxiao and Qingying, and the two of them immediately understood, chuckled and quietly withdrew.

Liu Hui came to the soft couch lightly, and saw that her cheeks were red and fluttering, and her red lips were slightly pursed, as if she was sleeping soundly. So she couldn't bear to wake up, so she only reached out and pulled out the handkerchief in her hand.

She seemed to be sleeping deeply, her eyelids twitched slightly, but they opened quickly. It's just that the cold black eyes in the past are foggy at the moment, and they obviously haven't woken up yet.

"You're back!" Seeing the familiar face shaking in front of him, Hua Lianyue narrowed her eyes with reassurance, but her voice was thick nasal, looking delicate and defenseless, which made him feel pity.

"Why don't you lie down on the bed when you're tired, isn't it uncomfortable to be crooked like this!" Liu Hui pulled the blanket on her body for her, and gently stroked her abdomen, which was larger than ordinary people.

Hua Lianyue struggled to sit up, and said with a smile: "Lying in bed seriously but can't sleep, it's good to close your eyes when you're sleepy!" After a pause, she looked at him curiously again, and said curiously: "Didn't Feng Qi say that you would come back later when you entered the palace today, why did you come back so early?"

Liu Hui showed a trace of worry on his face when he heard this, he sat down beside Hua Lianyue, picked up a cup of tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp, and then said in a deep voice: "The imperial doctor said that the queen mother is only afraid that it will be a matter of the past two days." ”

After all, she is a seventy-year-old woman, and her body is not strong enough to be pampered all year round, where can she withstand such a cough day and night, coupled with a large mouthful of blood. If it were put on ordinary people, I was afraid that she would have returned to the West long ago, and it was also thanks to her that she was the most noble woman in Eastern Qin, and she was raised with all kinds of rare medicinal materials, so she barely delayed it for so long.

Since the Queen Mother fell ill, Hua Liyue has not seen her face. Even on the day when she gave the golden book of the concubine, she only kowtowed outside the queen mother's dormitory when she entered the palace. Hua Lianyue sighed and said: "Life and death are fate, wealth is in the sky, everyone will have this day, just ask for your heart....."

Liu Hui didn't speak, his eyes were sharp and staring at the flickering red candle in front of him, but his expression couldn't say how sad it was. After all, the Queen Mother has always been indifferent to their mother and son, and he himself is weak to say that he has deep feelings. It's just that the Queen Mother is his grandmother after all, and when she really wanders around the Ghost Gate, he still feels a little sad in his heart.

Hua Lianyue also seemed to understand his contradictory mood at the moment, stopped the meaningless comfort, and only quietly stayed by his side.

The Queen Mother's Bedroom!

The Queen Mother was in a coma for a day and a night and did not wake up this time, and the doctors used all the methods they could, but it had no effect at all. The emperor was staring at him again, and it was inevitable that all of them were in a cold sweat with their foreheads and vests.

"Quacks, quacks, a bunch of quacks who only know how to take money but are useless. The emperor's heart was hot, the corners of his mouth were already foaming, and at this moment, seeing that the queen mother's condition was heavy and there was no improvement at all, he couldn't help but smash the tea cup in his hand under anxiety.

The imperial doctors were already panicked, and they knelt down to plead guilty. The queen hurriedly said: "The emperor is angry, please take care of your own body!" The emperor couldn't help but glance back at her when he heard this, but saw that because she was personally serving at the queen mother's couch day and night, her body was also a lot thinner, and her delicate complexion in the past also looked haggard and sallow.

The emperor inevitably felt soft, and his dissatisfaction with her, the prince, and the Xie family in the past was all left behind at the moment.

Seeing that the emperor was no longer angry, the queen moved her eyes to the imperial doctors who knelt on the ground in front of her, and said in a deep voice: "The queen mother will inevitably be anxious if she has been ill for a long time, you don't have to be so nervous, you can treat it how you want." If anyone recommends a few familiar folk doctors who can cure the Queen Mother, this palace will definitely be rewarded!"

The imperial doctors looked at each other, but no one dared to answer this question. Because they understand that the Queen Mother is not only seriously ill now, but also irresistible natural aging. The divine doctor may be able to heal the sick, but he cannot compete with the king of Yama.

The queen's dark eyes were bottomless, she quietly glanced around these worried-looking imperial doctors, and saw that they shrunk their necks and no one spoke, she couldn't help but show a look of disappointment, and muttered, "Can't you think of any other way?"

It is said that these are the dragon sons and phoenix grandchildren, the harem concubines, and the imperial doctors who are treated by dignitaries and dignitaries, all of whom are top-notch talents in Eastern Qin. It's a pity that they have been serving around these nobles who ask for sins at every turn, and they have long learned the golden mean.

Everything is based on peace, not seeking merit but seeking no fault, and the prescriptions prescribed are absolutely mild and non-irritating, anyway, most of these nobles are moaning without disease. As long as the medicinal herbs listed on the recipe are valuable enough, it is enough for people not to get wrong.

As for whether there are more suitable cheap medicinal materials, it is basically not within the scope of their consideration. Because even if they prescribe such a prescription, it is estimated that what they will get is the suspicion and reproach of the nobles. Of course, the medical skills of the imperial doctors are still enough to deal with ordinary diseases, but if they encounter real incurable diseases, they have no choice.

Over time, the imperial physicians also had a tacit understanding, and they knew how to attack and defend the alliance without verbal communication at all. For example, now, as long as they keep the panic and silence on their faces, they can face the emperor's anger and the queen's earnest inquiry.

Seeing their appearance of a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water, the emperor was inevitably angry again, so he slapped the table heavily and said hatefully: "What's the use of raising you waste!"

"The emperor is angry!" the imperial doctors bowed down again. The emperor was so angry with these old foxes that he almost fell down! He only hated Liu Yiliang for suddenly leaving everything behind and drifting away since the death of the old general Weng, and he couldn't find it by all means. If Liu Yiliang is here, where do you need him to put pressure on these old foxes every day.

The queen was not afraid of his anger, and said to him gently: "The time for the queen mother's medicine has come." ”

There was already a palace maid holding the medicine cup to the queen mother's bed, the queen personally picked up the white jade lotus bowl, scooped the black medicine juice with white smoke inside, sighed, and said: "This is the third medicine, I hope it will be useful!"

The queen's eyelashes drooped, and no one could see her dark eyes clearly. The movements of her hands are extremely skillful, and with the assistance of the palace maid, she waits for the queen mother to exhaust a bowl of medicine. It's just that the last spoonful of medicine has just been fed, but the Queen Mother choked violently again, and even vomited out all the medicine she had finally drunk, and there were several piercing scarlet blood clots in those medicinal juices.

The queen was caught off guard and vomited, but she was not in a hurry to avoid it, but cooperated with the imperial doctors to patiently go down the queen mother's back. It wasn't until the Queen Mother's heart-rending cough gradually subsided that she quietly retreated to the temporary room to change her clothes.

The movement in the dormitory was not small, which frightened the palace concubines who were waiting outside. Later, when they heard that the palace was gradually quieting down, and seeing the queen come out to change her clothes, they knew that the queen mother had temporarily survived the pass, so they breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their respective positions to sit down.

Today's concubines who are serving the sick originally had the highest position as a concubine, but unfortunately she is not favored all year round, and the rest of the low-ranking concubines also deliberately ignore her existence, and only drink tea slowly while whispering to herself.

Concubine Shu really didn't care about anything now, no one paid attention to it, she simply closed her eyes and pinched the Buddha beads in her hand. When others saw this, they all showed disdain, thinking that she was pretending to compete for favor. Only Mingyue beside her knows that Concubine Shu is now in a peaceful state of mind, and she really has no half utilitarian heart.

At the end of the day, there was a sudden panic in the queen mother's bedroom, and this panic lasted for most of the hour. The concubines outside could only see the palace maids going in and out like ants on a hot pot, and basins of piercing blood were splashed out.

They looked at each other, and their hearts were full of anxiety. One of them couldn't bear it anymore and quietly sent his palace maid over to inquire. Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering cry in the hall, and the palace maid ran out in a panic and said to her master: "Niangniang, the queen mother, the queen mother, she is gone!"