The city is full of joy and joy, and the streets of Beijing are full of lights, a prosperous scene.

In the blink of an eye, Chinese New Year's Eve has arrived, and according to the rules, the whole country will be suspended in the next three days. After running around for a year, I finally looked forward to the coming New Year's Festival and got these three days of leisure.

At dusk, Huo Yizheng got off school from the upper study, so he went to the imperial study to ask for instructions, and wanted to go out of the palace to Xiao Mansion for the New Year, Huo Jingcheng was ready.

Before Huo Yizheng left, he suddenly stopped and turned around, and asked, "Father, do you want the queen mother to come back?" ”

Huo Jingcheng lowered his eyes for a moment and said, "Naturally, I hope she is back." ”

Huo Yizheng said: "That...... How long does my father plan to delay this? ”

Huo Jingcheng raised his eyes to look at him, and said in a light tone: "So what? Do you want me to coax your queen mother again? Yi Zheng, do you think this is possible? ”

Huo Yizheng stopped talking.

Huo Jingcheng got up and came to his side, stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Yi Zheng, your mother's temperament is so fierce, I can't do anything about it." I will wait for her to come back but I will not beg her to come back, or I will never be able to hold my head up in front of her. The palace is here, her husband and son are also here, if she wants to come back, she will come back by herself, otherwise, if she insists on going her own way, I think, such a woman who disregards the overall situation and abandons her husband and children will also be terrible. ”

Huo Yizheng was speechless, and silently bowed and prepared to leave.

Who knows, Huo Jingcheng shouted to him again.

Huo Yizheng turned around: "Does my father have any other orders?" ”

Huo Jingcheng looked at him with a gaze as deep as an abyss, and said something with a serious expression.

"Yi Zheng, if one day your father and your mother really come to that last step, then, my father hopes that you will not blame any of us, and your father will never be involved in you because of your mother's affairs, and you still have to be confident and self-reliant. Remember, what your father built now is your future. Do you understand? ”

"Erchen understands, Erchen retires." Huo Yizheng bowed upright and left the imperial study.

......

The dusk recedes, and the willows are on the moon. On Chinese New Year's Eve, everything was peaceful and comfortable, and the atmosphere was really beautiful.

In the unbridled palace, there was a joyful and lively atmosphere. Yao Duran invited Concubine Jing and Wei Yanran to come to the palace in the evening to celebrate the New Year together, but now only Wei Yanran came happily, and Concubine Jing declined, thinking that she was cold and happy, and it was understandable that she didn't come.

There were bursts of conversation and laughter in the hall, Yao Duran and Wei Yanran were wrapping dumplings at the round table, and Fuquan, Biya and Yingru were helping on the side. Naturally, there is also Yishuang, a little girl, who doesn't know how to make dumplings, so she took a small piece of dough as mud to knead and play.

Everyone, you and I chatted one by one, and we were all happy. Surprisingly, Wei Yanran's dumplings are really delicate and firm. Yao Duran carefully picked one up and looked at it in his hand, and said, "Yanran, how can the dumplings you make be so good?" ”

Wei Yanran said triumphantly: "This is natural, every year during the New Year's Festival, I make dumplings with my father by hand, practice makes perfect, and I am not far behind." ”

"I see."

When everyone was talking and laughing, Huo Jingcheng came.

He seemed to be in a good mood and had a good smile. Yishuang cheered and pounced: "Father! ”

Huo Jingcheng looked down at her, saw her with her arms open, and said, "What?" Are you so old and still want your father to hug you? ”

Yishuang pouted: "Hmph, the imperial concubine is older than me, and my father hugged her last time, I accidentally saw it." ”

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

Yao Duran blushed directly, and couldn't wait to plunge into the flour. Huo Jingcheng couldn't help but laugh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

In the end, everyone sat around him at the round table, and Biya and Qingtang waited for him to clean his hands.

Yao Duran directly handed him a dumpling wrapper and said, "Your Majesty, can you show us a hand?" ”

Fuquan said smartly: "Yes, yes, Your Majesty, the dumplings are ingots, you personally wrapped them, and they are God-given ingots!" Who is lucky enough to eat it, this blessing will last for ten lifetimes! ”

As soon as this remark came out, there was a lot of excitement on the board, and everyone echoed and complimented.

Huo Jingcheng looked at Fuquan with a smile and said, "You can really speak, no wonder your mother values you." How old is it? ”

Fuquan replied with a smile: "Back to Your Majesty, the slave is twenty this year." ”

Huo Jingcheng thought for a while, and suddenly said, "How about going on an errand in front of the emperor?" After two years under Qin An, I will give you another official and a half-job, how about it? ”

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere was quiet, and Fu Quan was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer, and looked straight at Yao Duran. And Yao Duran didn't know what he meant, and was speechless for a while.

At this time, Wei Yanran suddenly said bluntly: "Your Majesty, are you going to build a backing for your sister in the previous dynasty?" ”

Yao Duran was secretly shocked when she heard this.

Wei Yanran suddenly said this, Huo Jingcheng still lowered his eyes and smiled, and said: "Heh, nonsense, I just see that he is flexible and eloquent, and he is a usable person." ”

Seeing that he didn't admit it, Wei Yanran quipped, "Oh? One of the chamberlains next to the concubine is also very smart and clever, why don't His Majesty support him as a eunuch? ”

Huo Jingcheng raised his eyes to look at her: "You want to be beautiful." ”

When Wei Yanran heard this, she said angrily: "Look, Your Majesty's dragon heart has deviated to the Nine Clouds!" ”

"Haha-"

"Cluck-"

Everyone laughed it off, and the matter did not continue to be discussed in detail. Everyone began to urge Huo Jingcheng to make dumplings again.

Huo Jingcheng pinched the dumpling skin in his hand, and said calmly: "Okay, I'll try." As he spoke, he scooped a small spoonful of meat filling and put it on the dumpling skin, but then, he felt a little at a loss.

Wei Yanran: "Oh, Your Majesty, there is oil in this filling, but it can't be stuck to the edge of the dumpling skin, otherwise it won't be pinched together." ”

Yao Duran: "Your Majesty, wait, wait, wait, if you pinch it so hard, you will squeeze the dumplings." ”

Yishuang: "Father, this dumpling you made is so ugly!" It makes people don't want to eat dumplings anymore. ”

Everyone laughed again. Huo Jingcheng put down the ugly dumpling and said with a smile: "That's it, I really can't do it, don't waste things in vain." You wrap it, I'll wait to eat it. ”

Yao Duran said with a smile: "Okay, Your Majesty will rest for a while, and drink the new tea sent by the Shanyuan first." The concubines and a few of them can be cooked in the pot for a while, and by the way, there will be a Chinese New Year's Eve banquet, let's drink and celebrate the New Year together. ”

Huo Jingcheng looked at her with gentle eyebrows and eyes, and responded with a warm smile.

......

In the Xiao Mansion outside the palace walls, Huo Yizheng came to the secluded courtyard where the queen lived. After entering, the queen and Ruomei's master and servant were also wrapping dumplings, but the atmosphere seemed to be cold for no reason, which made Huo Yizheng's heart sour.

"Queen Mother, Yi Zheng is here to accompany you and your uncle for the New Year."

When the queen saw him coming, she smiled faintly: "It's good to come, come and sit, your uncle will come over soon." ”

Huo Yizheng came to the table and sat down, and suddenly said: "Queen Mother, go back to the palace, in fact, my father has been waiting for you to go back." ”

The queen was stunned for a moment, and the expression in her eyes quickly faded: "So you and Yao Duran came to give me the method of agitation?" ”

Huo Yizheng saw that she had figured it out, so she hurriedly stood up: "Queen Mother, the son-in-law knows that he is wrong, this matter is indeed the son's idea, and the imperial concubine has cooperated with the son-in-law, but in the final analysis, we all hope that you will return to the palace." ”

Ruomei saw that their mother and son were talking about this, so she made an excuse to retreat.

After the door was closed, the queen smiled coldly: "Okay, sit down, you are my son, how can I blame you?" It's her, who has done so perfectly, your father is afraid that he loves more and more and has nowhere to stay, and it is difficult for me to compare after this immorality, not in the past, and even more so now. ”

Huo Yizheng said: "Queen Mother, you are the queen, why do you want to compare with the concubine?" ”

The corners of the queen's lips were dyed with a wry smile, and her eyes became deep: "Yi Zheng, for so many years, I have endured a lot of women, but I can't bear Yao Duran, I have really endured it to the limit." Later, when your father would rather leave me than leave her, my heart was dead, and my way back was collapsed. From that moment on, I was no longer his wife, nor was I a queen, and I should be at ease and live for myself in my lifetime. There is no need to endure anything, and there is no need to pretend to be generous or virtuous. I'm tired, and it's enough. As a king, he still wants to be himself, so don't I want to be myself as I wish? Should I bury myself on the path of the king's wife? Is he worth it now? ”

Huo Yizheng said: "Queen Mother, but you are really doing a good job, and you have come over for so many years, why did the Queen Mother give up halfway?" ”

The queen slowly shed two lines of tears, and her voice was slightly choked: "In the past, your father did not have such a childlike affection, and his rationality and wife were the driving force for me to persevere." But what about now? He said that he would not lose bias between his wife and concubine, but Yi Zheng, do you believe it? Did you see he did it? A concubine was assassinated, he simply and rudely put dozens of officials in prison, which directly caused the death of your grandfather, the only way I can forgive him is that there is no more disaster in the palace that has become his weakness, but he left me, who can forgive? ”

"Also, no matter how well I do as a queen, I gave up a lot of things to force it out, and I was forced out, in this forced process, how hard I was, how difficult it was, only I know how many nights in the dead of night, I tasted that taste alone year after year. Now, it's time for me to let go, let go of the shackles that shackle me, let go of the weight that crushed me, and live freely. ”

Huo Yizheng's eyes turned red and asked, "Queen Mother, don't you care about me?" ”

The queen wiped her tears and said in a calm tone: "No matter, Yi Zheng, don't blame the queen mother, the queen mother can't control anyone anymore, your father has his own hegemony, and his nephrite jade is warm." You have your own sky, clouds and bright future, who can I control and who can influence? So let it go and free each other. ”