In the thirty-second year of Jianzhao, the forty-eight-year-old emperor, the harem dried up, and he did not have an heir for seven years.

The imperial court issued an edict and ordered the ministers to select women of appropriate age to enter the palace in each province. According to their qualifications, the winners are either accepted as the emperor and the prince's concubines, or they are selected as palace maids. For a while, you can smell warblers and swallows everywhere in the palace, and you can see that the flowers are like brocade, and the harem is like a spring light.

Emperor Jianzhao used the solid gold pill to linger in the harem every day, and Baolin Cainu canonized countless people. However, in the past two years of the general election, there has been no flowering in the court, but no results. The emperor is no longer young, and many times he has not been able to raise his interest. The young concubines and chamberlains were like duckweed floating in the harem, and they tried their best to use all kinds of tricks to coax the emperor to linger, hoping that one day they would be favored by the heavens, and they could find a foundation for survival.

Butterfly luck is their new idea.

I heard that the emperor of the previous dynasty had asked his concubines to plant flowers in front of their respective palace gates, and the emperor used butterflies as a guide, and where the butterflies flew to, the emperor was lucky to be there that night. In the harem, people have always been more delicate than flowers, and it must be a very romantic and glamorous thing.

After hearing this, Emperor Jianzhao said yes in a loud voice. The chamberlain then presented a very rare blue-colored phoenix-tailed butterfly, the butterfly's wings were blue, and the silver spots flashed in it, and the wings were like phoenix tails. When the cage door opened, the blue butterfly's wings flapped out, like the blue sky and stars, making it even more magnificent and dazzling.

"There was a poem in the previous dynasty, 'I wish to repay Sauvignon Blanc because of the three blue birds'." The emperor was overjoyed, stroked his palms and said, "Now that I have a spirit butterfly, if I can find a good fate for me, I am afraid that the Luan bird who is called the queen mother will also be ashamed." ”

The waiter's eyes were full of irrepressible smiles, and he said with a smile: "When does the emperor plan to be lucky?" The minions are going to prepare. ”

The emperor crossed his eyebrows: "Which day?" Today's weather is clear, and it couldn't be better. ”

The waiter hesitated for a while, and seemed to be unable to speak: "The slave is brave, but today is fifteen, and the queen's mother is ......."

The emperor picked up the three-legged incense tripod with red gold unicorn pattern on the desk and smashed it at him: "Stupid slave! This is my harem, I can go wherever I fall in love, how can I allow a woman to put her beak! ”

Jin Ding missed by three points and fell on the floor tiles, with a sonorous sound. The chamberlain was so frightened that he fell to his knees, and hurriedly slapped himself a few times, crying: "The slave should die, the slave should die, the emperor is wise and martial, it is the slave who is too talkative!" ”

However, at a distance of one zhang, he didn't hit it, and the emperor couldn't help but be a little stupid: What kind of wisdom and martial arts? What bullshit Jindan? All liars! He coughed violently a few times, and strode out of the smoky Xihe Temple, never wanting to smell the incense that choked people day and night in this hall.

The waiter trembled and crawled out of the main hall, signaling the attendant to return to the hall and put away the blue phoenix butterfly. Then the group lowered their heads and followed the bright yellow figure, not daring to make a sound.

"Zhou Liang."

"The minions are here."

"Where do you think I should put this butterfly?"

Zhou Liang saw that most of the emperor's anger had disappeared, and said with a little timidity: "Wherever the emperor goes, it is the blessing of the mother, it is a blessing, it is all based on the will of heaven, and the slave does not dare to say more." ”

The emperor frowned in disgust: "After saying a word about you, you will be sloppy with me." ”

Zhou Liang hurriedly knelt down: "The slave doesn't dare." It's just that Yongfu Palace is on the east side, and the emperor is still ...... It's a good day, don't make trouble with the queen's mother......"

Thinking of the childless and virtuous queen, the emperor's heart was full of anger again, and he was about to vent his anger - a poplar flower fell on his front sleeve at some point, and the cuffs were densely embroidered with gold and silver threads with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes. If there is another big quarrel with the queen, those old ministers of the previous dynasty still don't know how to talk about it...... He looked at the Yang Hua flying in the sky in a daze, and was a little impatient: "Okay, then go west." ”

To the West...... Zhou Liang's conscience was happy, but his face still didn't move. The west side is mostly the palace residence of the young concubines, who have just entered the palace and failed to have children, no root and no foundation, no matter which one the emperor is fortunate to, it is the credit of his chief eunuch.

At this time, it is March, and everything is green in spring, and there are many flowers in the depths of the palace. The blue-colored phoenix butterfly hovered and flew in front of it, as if it couldn't bear to stay somewhere for a moment, and then it lived up to this good spring. The emperor's face was slightly pale, and he urged his attendants to chase the colorful butterfly closely, for fear that one of them would not pay attention and miss its trace.

After about half an hour of chasing in the inner court, the emperor's face was flushed and he was out of breath. Since the loss of the crown prince and the imperial concubine, his body has been getting worse day by day. Until the past two years, the emperor was extremely favored by a few folk alchemists, using refined gold pills to replenish his body, and using all kinds of incense to forcibly refresh his mind, on the surface masculine as a tiger wolf, but in fact the inside has long been hollowed out. At this time, he bent over and exhaled, and his body was even more swollen and pot-bellied.

"Weird...... Why can't this butterfly stop today......" Zhou Liang's heart was also a little anxious, in case the emperor was tired of playing and stopped, their hard work for several days would be in vain.

As he was muttering, the blue-colored phoenix butterfly suddenly turned around and flew away again.

"Okay, you spirit butterfly, you're going to exhaust me to death, aren't you!" The emperor was panting, but still staggered after him.

"Your Majesty, slow down!" Zhou Liang took a deep breath and followed with small steps with the corner of his robe. It didn't take long for him to suddenly change color and say, "Ouch, it's not ......."

The emperor didn't hear the exclamation of the attendant behind him, and chased after the butterfly.

"Your Majesty! Emperor! Zhou Liang's voice was sharp and thin, and it sounded extremely harsh at the moment, "That's Luan Qing Palace!" ”

The three big lacquered gold characters on the plaque made his brain ring. The spirit butterfly flew towards the palace, bypassing the shadow wall in front of the palace gate, but the emperor stood on the spot with a complicated expression, and his eyes were covered with a layer of clouds.

Zhou Liang was so frightened that his legs became weak, and he screamed in his heart, but the basket had already been stabbed, so he had to keep up. It turned out that this Luanqing Palace was the bedroom of the late imperial concubine Gu, who gave birth to the emperor's eldest son Jingqi in the first year of Jianzhao, and since then she has been promoted to the imperial concubine, and has been favored infinitely for a full 20 years. Jingqi, "prayer" and "enlightenment" have the same sound, the emperor's eldest son is the same age as the Jianzhao era, and the emperor also cherishes this son. Although he was not a concubine, he was named the crown prince at the age of ten, entered and exited the Xihe Palace, and was personally raised by the emperor.

Who knew that the good times would not last long, and Prince Jingqi was framed by traitors when he was nineteen years old and was falsely accused of rebellion. Later, although he was rehabilitated, Emperor Jianzhao was suspicious and suspicious, and after this incident, the emperor repeatedly reprimanded the prince for trivial matters, and gradually snubbed him. The prince has been favored since he was a child, and he has suffered such grievances, and in less than a year, he has accumulated grievances and died of illness. Emperor Jianzhao lost his beloved son and blamed himself, and the imperial concubine was such an only son, and he couldn't stand the pain of the white-haired man sending the black-haired man's intestines, so he couldn't afford to get sick, and it didn't take long for him to go with the prince.

After experiencing the loss of his wife and children, Emperor Jianzhao seems to attribute the blame to his own suspicions, and amnesty the world in the name of sin. treats concubines and heirs, not to mention becoming more generous and tolerant, even to the point of indulgence. However, the palace where the Gu family lived became a forbidden place in the harem, and no one dared to mention the words Luanqing Palace, Imperial Concubine, and Prince Jingqi in front of him, and the emperor did not arrange for newcomers to enter the palace.

When his thoughts returned, Zhou Liang saw that the emperor was still standing at the gate of the palace, and his front foot took a step and retracted it, and he was struggling. He cautiously called, "Your Majesty." ”

"It's a ...... living here"

"If you go back to the emperor, the imperial concubine has passed away for many years, and this Luanqing Palace is not inhabited."

"Stupid slave!" The Emperor rebuked, "Why did the Spirit Butterfly guide me here? ”

"This ......" Zhou Liang was speechless, not knowing how to reply. The Luanqing Palace has been abandoned for many years, how can anyone cultivate flowers here to attract butterflies?

When the group hesitated in front of the door, a young man's thin voice came from behind the shadow wall: "Sister Ruan, come and see, why did such a beautiful butterfly fly!" ”

I heard another person stepping on the bluestone bricks, and walked outside, and after a while, he exclaimed: "Oh, what a beautiful butterfly!" Her voice was as clear as the ding dong of spring rain, with a hint of early spring, and the straight teaching warmed people's hearts.

"Little stone, what kind of butterfly is this? It's so beautiful with such a long tail! ”

"I ...... I can't say, maybe it was the azaleas we planted. ”

The girl smiled: "People in the palace love to plant some peonies and peonies, rhododendrons are the most common flowers in the mountains, but the butterflies in the palace have never been seen, they are rare!" ”

Xiao Shi quipped: "What you said makes some sense, but in my opinion, Sister Ruan is still good-looking, and she can compete with those peony and peony medicines." Otherwise, how can we attract so many butterflies in our palace? ”

The girl was anxious when she heard this: "Shhh, don't talk nonsense!" ”

"Anyway, I heard from the master that no one has come to this Luanqing Palace for more than ten years, and it doesn't matter if you talk nonsense." He teased casually, but there was some unwilling loneliness in his tone.

Zhou Liang saw that the emperor had finally stepped into the gate, and he also followed around the shadow wall, shouting: "Bold minion! The holy driver is here, how can you wait for nonsense! ”

The two of them were stunned, don't say Holy Drive, they haven't even seen a concubine and prince over the years. It wasn't until a bright yellow shadow swept in front of him that he came to his senses and fell to his knees. Xiao Shi was so frightened that he couldn't get angry: "Slave - slave gaffes, please forgive the emperor!" ”

The emperor didn't look at him, walked straight to the light pink woman in palace clothes kneeling by the flower bed, pointed at her with his finger and said, "You, what's your name?" ”

"The slave Ruan Jia is the rough envoy of the Luan Qing Palace." She lowered her head and silently counted a few dragons embroidered on the emperor's square head brocade shoes, so as to keep herself calm.

The emperor seemed to be in a good mood and did not care about their gaffes. He walked a few steps along the flowerbed and asked with a smile, "In this palace, are there just the two of you?" ”

Xiao Shi rushed to the front and spoke: "If you go back to the emperor, there has been no mother and little master living in Luanqing Palace, and the Ministry of Internal Service has only sent a eunuch and a palace maid to be responsible for daily sprinkling. ”

Zhou Liang sneered: "You are a clever mouthful!" Didn't you see who the emperor was asking? Give me a slap! ”

The guards beside him were about to step forward, but Ruan Jia hurriedly raised his head and replied: "It's the slave who is stupid and doesn't know the etiquette before the emperor." Gonggong Shi was just worried that the slave and maid had said the wrong thing and made the emperor angry, so he helped the slave and maid reply, and asked the emperor not to blame him. ”

The emperor saw that her eyes were smart and tactful, and her lips were slightly opened, as fresh and delicate as a budding flower. He waved his hand at Zhou Liang, pulled the corners of his mouth and said with a smile: "I thought this little eunuch was a clever person, but I didn't expect this little girl to be even better, after all, it is the place where the imperial concubine lived, and she has aura in the end." With that, he bent down and tried to reach out and help her up. He was bloated, and it wasn't easy for him to bend over. When he lifted Ruan Jia up, his hands felt a hint of resistance, but this resistance disappeared in a flash, and Ruan Jia stood up on his own.

"How old are you this year?" The Emperor stared at her.

"If you go back to the emperor, the slave will be fifteenth in the next month."

"Fifteen ......" the Emperor coughed a few more times, his voice long, "It's really young, I'm about to ascend the throne when I'm your age." ”

Ruan Jia lowered her head and said softly: "The slave is low, how dare you compare with the emperor." The emperor is young and promising, and he works hard, which is the blessing of the people of the Great Zhou. ”

The emperor waved his hand and said: "I have heard these words a lot, it is boring, I am old, and seeing you young people is like going back to the past." You are only fifteen, you must have not been in the palace for a long time, do you know who lived in Luanqing Palace before? ”

"The slave maid used to listen to Aunt Xi, who was the concubine of the Imperial Court."

"So you are doing things here, it is because of the grace of the imperial concubine." The emperor pondered for a long time, then turned back to Zhou Liang and instructed, "I am guided by the Heavenly Mother Spirit Butterfly to see a beautiful woman." Immediately pass on my will, Luan Qing palace maid Ruan, dear and respectful, very much I want, I want to seal her ...... The main hall of Luanqing Palace, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to have a low rank, so let's be a concubine. ”

Ruan Jia was shocked, and hurriedly knelt down and said, "The slave doesn't dare!" ”

Zhou Liang originally remembered it seriously, but he was shocked when he heard the last sentence, it is very rare for a low-ranking palace maid to be sealed, let alone a concubine in one fell swoop! He said cowardly: "Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, the palace maid is promoted to the throne, I'm afraid it doesn't conform to the rules of the ancestors. What's more, above the concubine position, the phoenix seal of the queen's mother must still be able to ....... ”

The emperor was furious: "It's the queen again!" Zhang's shrew, what benefits she gives you, you have to mention her in front of me all the time! ”

Zhou Liang hurriedly knelt down, and he didn't even dare to say in his mouth.

"I am the Son of Heaven, and what I say is regulation! You go and arrange for the Ruan family to sleep tonight, right here in Luan Qing Palace!" Tomorrow I personally went back to the queen and asked for her seal. I want to see if the queen can still prevent me from sealing a small concubine! The emperor was so angry that his cheeks flushed, and he coughed several times without looking back.

Zhou Liang saw him faltering, hurriedly stepped forward to help, and when he left, he bowed to another chamberlain beside him. The white-faced eunuch understood, and after the emperor and his attendants left, he said loudly: "You have all heard it, the emperor's grace is mighty, and the slave congratulates the girl first." The Ministry of Internal Affairs will immediately divide some palace people, and will also send a few aunts to teach the girl the etiquette before the palace, so you should prepare early. ”

After this thunderbolt, Ruan Jia had not yet recovered from the shock, but Shi Quan heard this as if he had been drunk by someone, and suddenly came to his senses: "Sister Ruan...... This ...... "She is not yet fifteen, she is still in the best years of a woman, no matter how dull and boring the harem days are, she is still looking forward to one day when she can leave the palace." Most of the palace maids with innocent backgrounds can marry a good family. It's not like he has already broken his roots and can only live in this deep palace for the rest of his life.

Ruan Jia had tears in his eyes, knowing that he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help but ask: "Dare to ask this father-in-law, I ...... What can I do...... Can you not sleep......"

The white-faced eunuch sighed and said, "Miss Ruan, don't blame the slave for being rude, the emperor has not yet been canonized, and the girl is still a girl." It's just that the emperor has already spoken, and the girl is no longer the palace maid in this Luanqing Palace, and the slave dares to call you a girl first. The emperor values the girl, which is the blessing of the girl. Just like this day, God gives it to the great drought and famine, or the snow harvest year, the common people can only bear it, and where can they compete with God. Therefore, the son of heaven, Longen, the girl just needs to enjoy it, and she must not say a 'no' again. ”

And when he had given all the commands, he withdrew. Only Shi Quan and Ruan Jia were left in the Luan Qing Palace, silent, and the blue phoenix butterfly did not know when to leave the azalea bush.

Shi Quan suddenly slammed into his chest: "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have asked the father-in-law of the flower house to ask for these azalea seeds!" ”

Although Ruan Jia was full of sadness, he only shook his head and gently removed his fist: "Little stone, how can I blame you for this." It's because I always complain about the boredom and boredom in the palace, so you try to get some flowers and plants to make me happy. It's all fate, my own fate. ”

She once lamented the unfairness of fate, and at the age of thirteen, she was forced to enter the palace as a rough maid. Now that I think about it, I don't know how lucky I am to be able to spend two years freely in this forgotten place of Luanqing Palace, and to make a friend like Shi Quan.

Shi Quan couldn't listen to her self-comforting words, but he just regretted it vigorously. Ruan Jia didn't allow him to beat his chest, so he smashed his fist on the hard bluestone brick over and over again, wanting to smash his hand.

The dark sky resounded with bursts of dull spring thunder, low clouds and dark surges, and the air mixed with pollen and earth gradually glued, condensing into a boulder suppressed in the heart. Ruan Jia squatted by the flowers, and every time he took a breath, he only felt that the boulder was pressed into his body, and he sank into the abyss at the bottom of his heart.

I don't know how long it took, but she suddenly clapped her hands and stood up. Shi Quan was surprised to find that she was actually smiling—as if she had returned to the girl who had found the butterflies and azaleas, her eyebrows and eyes were crooked, and her smile was like a bright spring, sweeping away the gloom before the rain.

"After today, I'm half a mother. Now it's a phoenix on the branches, little stone, you have to be happy for me. ”