In the imperial city, there is a bleak color,

White sails, white lanterns, and white figures illuminate the night sky.

The Ministry of Rites is the main, supplemented by the Honglu Temple, and all the matters of the Jingtai Emperor's funeral ceremony have been prepared, and the palace people, the soldiers of the forbidden army and the officials of the foreman have rehearsed several times, taking advantage of the first half of the night, to rest quickly.

They all know that once the time is over, there is no time for them to rest.

Jia Baoyu was also accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Rites, walked through his process for tomorrow, and familiarized himself with the eulogy that he needed to pray on stage several times, and he was sure that he was relaxed.

Qian Wenji, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, came to pay his respects and said, "Lord Wang, now that everything has been prepared, there are still three hours before the festival begins, and the Lord can rest for a while." The ministers have already arranged a resting room for the prince in the hall of the Ministry of Rites, and the prince has been wronged to stay temporarily. ”

By the light of the fire, Jia Baoyu could see the old man's haggard face and bloodshot eyes, and he knew how hard he had worked these days, compared to him, the prince was much more relaxed.

So he nodded and said: "Lord Qian should also rest and rest, don't do everything yourself, if Lord Qian overworks and exhausts his body, not to mention a big loss to the court, even this king will also feel uneasy." ”

Qian Wenji's face moved slightly, and he still bowed his head and said: "The prince is serious, it is the duty of a micro-minister to do things for the prince and do his best for the court." ”

Jia Baoyu smiled, and did not play an official role with him, and directly ordered the two officials behind Qian Wenji to send Qian Wenji down to rest.

Qian Wenji couldn't shirk it, so he could only go down, but as soon as he turned to a place where Jia Baoyu couldn't see, he began to take the trouble to explain to his deputy again.

The two adjutants also sincerely admired the behavior of their superiors, and they had been ordered by the king, so they had no reason not to follow him, so they repeatedly accepted his words, and then dragged him back.

Here, Jia Baoyu inspected one or two again, and a female eunuch from the palace of Changle Palace came to invite her, saying that she was summoned by the queen.

Jia Baoyu was about to go, and the eunuch, the head of the Internal Affairs Office, came over, saying that he had been instructed by the King of Zhongshun to clean up the palace in the inner court as a place to sleep.

Jia Baoyu didn't expect King Zhongshun to care about him so much, and he didn't have the heart to guess King Zhongshun's intentions, so he bluntly refused.

He didn't have the brainless idea of "he wants to see what kind of medicine is sold in the other party's gourd".

It doesn't matter what he wants to do, at such an important time, just ignore it.

When I came to Changle Palace, not only the queen was there, but also the harem of Emperor Jingtai, and all the imperial concubines above the third grade were waiting behind the wide bead curtain.

In fact, what later generations said that the emperor had three palaces, six courtyards and seventy-two concubines is a bit untrue, at least in Jia Baoyu's opinion, there are only more than ten famous imperial concubines rewarded by Emperor Jingtai.

Without snooping too much into the imperial concubines behind the bead curtain, Jia Baoyu saluted in a proper manner outside, and then waited for the queen to ask.

The queen symbolically inquired about the process of Emperor Jingtai's funeral ceremony, and confirmed to Jia Baoyu the time and place of tomorrow's imperial concubines and princesses crying.

As a result, all the concubines who were dressed in white and filial clothes came out.

Jia Baoyu hurriedly stood on the side, even so, she could feel the various glances cast at him by the women who walked past her.

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar figure approached, and Jia Baoyu subconsciously closed his figure.

raised his head, and sure enough, it was Wu Guifei's woman.

She had deliberately gone a little off, and if he hadn't dodged it quickly, he was afraid that he would have been hit by her shoulder and elbow.

Wu Guifei's plan did not succeed, and when she saw a few surprised eyes next to her, she smiled and said: "Lord Jing, this palace heard that King Jing has a kind of Danqing technique in his pen, which is the most suitable portrait, and the fifth princess was courteed by the prince to paint her at the birthday banquet of the county lord of Yunni last time, but is there such a thing?" ”

Jia Baoyu bowed down and responded: "Back to the noble concubine, there is such a thing, but it is just a small skill, not enough to worry about." ”

"Hehehe, the prince is too humble. The fifth princess likes that kind of painting technique the most, and she shouts to learn it every day. It's a pity that although there are many painters in the palace, no one is good at this skill.

I don't know if when the prince is free, would you like to come to Zhongcui Palace to teach the five princesses? ”

Jia Baoyu frowned, and he couldn't be rude to Wu Guifei in front of all the imperial concubines, so he arched his hand and said: "Guifei Niangniang has a life, and the ministers dare not obey ......"

It seems to be a promise, but in fact it is perfunctory.

Wu Guifei's face became happy, and she was about to say something more, when the queen's cold snort came from inside, "Wu family, this palace tells you to step down." ”

Wu Guifei's face changed slightly, and she glanced at the curtain angrily, in the end, now that she had lost her support, she didn't dare to go against the queen openly, so she also snorted lightly.

Even the idlers dispersed, and the queen explained the reason why she kept Jia Baoyu down.

"The Queen Mother ordered me to place the Jingwang Mansion for you, although there are still many places that need to be repaired, but at least the maids and eunuchs serving the palace in the main hall are in place, if you have no place to rest tonight, you can go to your palace to rest temporarily."

"Thank you to the queen mother, I have to worry about it."

Xu felt that it was too far away to speak, and with the queen's order, a palace maid came up to open the bead curtain and invited Jia Baoyu to come closer.

So Jia Baoyu entered the curtain.

At first glance, he naturally saw the queen, but the queen's face was ancient and waveless, and there was nothing to see in the same white dress, so he naturally looked at Yuan Chun.

Yuan Chun was also looking at him, and his originally calm eyes became a little unnatural when he looked over.

Even under Jia Baoyu's direct gaze, he dodged away.

Jia Baoyu smiled inwardly, it seems that after the events of that day, Yuan Chun really can't maintain his original mentality anymore for him.

"I've heard from this palace that there have been a lot of rumors between the government and the opposition recently, and there are some unfavorable rumors about you, do you know?"

The queen at the top suddenly asked.

Jia Baoyu turned around and arched his hand back: "Returning to the queen, this matter is true, but it is just some malicious rumors by people with ulterior motives, so there is no need to worry." ”

There are two main types of so-called rumors.

One is related to Emperor Jingtai, to the effect that Emperor Jingtai did not die at the hands of the assassins of the second prince, but was killed by the emperor in a mutiny, and the second prince rebelled because he was a wild seed or something......

This is not really a rumor, because it is very close to the truth.

However, this is a serious investigation by the imperial court, and Jia Baoyu has personally experienced it, and many people have been punished for this in the past two days.

There is no way to do this, there are many people who know about Emperor Jingtai's affairs, and it is inevitable that some places will be leaked.

However, the imperial court does not necessarily have to get rid of all the insiders, as long as these news do not dare to be superficial, but can only be passed on to the bottom.

As for the other, it's about him.

The main thing is the legitimacy of his identity, which is varied.

Don't think about it, you know that this matter is behind the scenes of King Zhongshun and others.

But in the same way, under the premise that the emperor's decree is politically correct, all doubtful voices either have status or status, or they only dare to say anything behind their backs.

I said it to his face, but so far.

Of course, even so, Jia Baoyu will not let them spread rumors. It just so happened that he was investigating those rumor-mongers who slandered Emperor Jingtai, and it was only natural to catch the people who made his rumors by the way.

In fact, it is not a big deal, since the king of Zhongshun thinks that he can win him in this way, then he will just play with him.

When the queen heard Jia Baoyu's tone, she knew that Jia Baoyu was in her chest. "Since you all know, then this palace won't say much, you act outside, and be careful yourself.

Okay, you must have worked hard to prepare for His Majesty's funeral in the past two days, and tomorrow is another full day of rituals, so you should go down and rest early.

Also, you're not familiar with your palace......

Xiunuan, you will go to the palace with the prince, introduce the personnel and placement with the prince, and then come back. ”

By the queen's side, the personal palace maid should also be.

Jia Baoyu actually wanted to say that he was going to be in the back hall of the Ministry of Rites tonight, but after seeing that the obedient palace maid received the order, she obediently came down to his side, and that's it.

Forget it, I'm not sleepy anyway, so I'll go to the palace to take a look, just to see what the queen has helped him do......

In front of the palace gate, Jia Baoyu turned over and got on the horse, looked at the big palace maids in front of the eunuchs and palace maids behind him, stretched out his hand and smiled: "Sister Xiunuan, do you want me to give you a ride?" ”

Xiu Nuan's face was slightly red, and she gave him a blank look, and then a carriage drove behind her, and she climbed up and lifted the curtain and went in.

Jia Baoyu is naturally just joking, if he dares to walk around the imperial city with the queen's personal palace maid, there will be one more rumor on him tomorrow......

……

King Jing's Mansion, there was already a eunuch who came to report to the prince that he would come to stay tonight.

As a result, the simple minion team that had just been set up in the palace immediately became busy.

After a while, under the hurried urging of the palace maids and eunuchs in charge, they all came to the front gate to line up to greet each other.

Under the sound of horses' hooves, which was not in a hurry, the large group of men and horses approached, and then countless soldiers with swords rushed over, guarding all the front and back, inside and outside, all the gates and main roads.

For a time, the entire palace was filled with the sound of swords and armor colliding.

The two hundred palace maids and eunuchs standing in the front yard were all intimidated by this momentum, and they were a little uneasy, when they suddenly heard the chief eunuch shouting:

"The prince is back home~~!"

So, all the palace maids and eunuchs immediately knelt down on the spot and shouted: "Welcome the prince back to his home~"

In front of the mansion, seeing this magnificent palace full of wealth and solemnity again, Jia Baoyu felt a little emotional.

In the past, he entered and exited this mansion as a vassal, and later, he led his troops into this mansion as a city breaker.

In the blink of an eye, he came to this mansion as the owner.

Turning over and dismounting, Jia Baoyu walked to the carriage of the palace maid Xiunuan, and stretched out his hand to lead her out of the carriage.

Xiu Nuan obviously had no such experience, and her somewhat naïve face was full of twists, and finally under Jia Baoyu's gentle and handsome face, she put her hand on his arm and jumped down.

Because he was in the carriage before, he introduced some arrangements to Jia Baoyu about the palace, so the two were not too strangers, and after getting off the car, Xiunuan pointed to a few eunuchs and palace maids kneeling at the gate to introduce Jia Baoyu.

Jia Baoyu asked them to get up, and then walked up the steps at the gate with Xiunuan on his legs.

The plaque on the door is no longer the three words "Qi Wangfu", but has become Jingwangfu.

Jia Baoyu only glanced at it, continued to move forward, and what was imprinted in his eyes was the front appearance of the entire palace.

The queen really has a heart, she obviously ordered someone to make a great adjustment to the layout of the palace, that is, the front yard, at a glance, it is also quite different from the appearance in memory.

And perhaps because he has not yet been willing to become the owner, except for the white sails hanging on the gate, the palace is completely new inside.

Inside the compound, there were many kneeling people.

On the left is the eunuch, and on the right is the palace maid.

Because of the limited time tonight, Jia Baoyu was not ready to recognize people one by one, so after telling them to get up, he gave a few random orders and told them to go down.

Because Xiunuan remembered her mission, she introduced the situation in the house to Jia Baoyu very seriously.

Judging from her level of understanding, when the queen placed the palace, she was most likely directly involved.

When she finally finished speaking, Jia Baoyu said with a smile: "There is Sister Lao Xiunuan, it's late, why don't you just rest in the house and let me do my best to be a landlord?" ”

Xiunuan's originally serious face suddenly twisted, and she wanted to take a sip of Jia Baoyu, but she didn't dare, so she had to say: "No, Niangniang explained and asked me to introduce you to them and then go back."

If the prince has no other instructions, the slave and maid will go back first......"

Xiunuan and the other palace maid beside the queen, Zhi'er, knew what was going on in the Baoling Palace that day, so Jia Baoyu joked with her like this.

Seeing that she was not fooled, she naturally didn't say anything, and directly ordered Zhanfei and others to escort this serious palace maid back to the palace.

After Xiunuan left, the chief eunuch and the palace maid in the palace came up to ask Jia Baoyu about the arrangements, whether he wanted to bathe, etc.

Jia Baoyu refused.

Under a look, Zhanfei took his own soldiers to surround and guard the bedroom.

In doing this, it's not that Jia Baoyu can't trust the queen, but in an unfamiliar environment, he must have such good habits.

Stepping into the house, there were still more than a dozen busy little palace maids in the house.

Jia Baoyu stopped them, picked two random ones to serve outside, and then drove everyone out, closed the door, and prepared to sleep peacefully for tomorrow's heavy and boring funeral ceremony......

An unfamiliar environment is the most prone to nightmares.

When I woke up from the big dream, the outside was still the same, and I took out my pocket watch to take a look, only to find that I had slept for less than an hour.

"Someone~"

Jia Baoyu called, and with a loud sound, the two little palace maids who had been left by him before and ordered them not to come in pushed open the door and came in with candles.