In the blink of an eye, a month had passed in the Xuanguang Palace, and the scorching sun had also taken away its anxiety, and the dark clouds were gradually gathering, pulling each other to cover its dazzling, leaving only a faint circle of light. Luoyang, which has been in drought for several months, ushered in a glimmer of hope for the first time, people are jubilantly setting up tables and burning incense, praying for God's rain, they are looking forward to the prime minister, and they are also looking forward to this rain to wash away the bloody months of blood.

Ying'e has tried various methods for more than a month, but it has always been difficult to get close to the west hall where the Empress Dowager Hu lives for half a step, only occasionally you can see the half of the face of the Empress Dowager Yilian when she delivers meals every day, she seems to dare not touch the strong light, and she always uses her hands to block it near the window, so you can imagine the light in the hall. In the middle of the night, she played the flute, and could faintly hear someone crying, and she anxiously wanted to rush out of the hall, but was often pushed back by the guards. She is more and more sure in her heart that the Queen Mother is not just a closed-door cultivation and praying for the blessings of the country if the outside world says, maybe she doesn't even know that King Qinghe is dead, maybe she is still waiting for him to save her.

Whenever Qihua saw Ying'e bowing her head and pondering, she silently added a cup of tea to her, but today she didn't do it, silently put aside a candlestick where Ying'e's gaze stayed, and kept picking the wick with a silver needle. Ying'e looked at the sky outside that was not yet dark, and blamed, "It's still early, but you are playing with it." As soon as she finished speaking, Ying'e had an epiphany, patted her head and jumped up, hugged Qihua, and shouted excitedly, "You ghost, I understand." Even if you remind me, I must be ready to suffer from the flesh and skin. ”

Qihua hurriedly signaled her to silence her, and said softly, "Niangniang, be careful that the wall has ears, the slave is willing to suffer this meal for Niangniang." ”

Ying'e looked at the fearlessness in her eyes, and began to treat her as someone she could trust, she whispered a few words to her, and Qihua nodded and went down to prepare.

It was night, in the north hall of the Xuanguang Palace, there was a faint fire, which spread in an instant, swallowing the curtains and curtains in the hall, and the guards saw the sky-high fire, and hurriedly rang the gong to summon everyone in the palace to put out the fire. Ying'e was covered with a quilt with a gray face and was supported by Qiwan, stumbling out of the door, and the guards took her outside the hall. The smoke choked her and coughed, but her eyes couldn't help but look around, such a big fire, Empress Dowager Hu would definitely transfer it. She walked through the noisy crowd, pushed aside the surging flow of people, and finally saw Xiao Xizi serving the Queen Mother under the eaves outside the hall, only to see that he was unkempt, and the eunuch suit on his body was patched with various colors.

Ying'e grabbed him and almost spilled the medicine, "What about the Queen Mother, Father-in-law, please take me to see the Queen Mother." ”

Xiao Xizi's dim eyes, because he saw Ying'e suddenly brightened, he choked up and wanted to salute, "Ying Concubine Niangniang, the slave has only seen Niangniang." ”

Ying'e grabbed him to stop him from saluting, "When is it, I still need these etiquettes, I am also a person from the cold palace, don't treat me as a mother, just take me to see how the Queen Mother is." ”

Xiao Xizi wiped her tears with one hand, pointed forward with the other, and said in a hoarse voice, "Niangniang comes with the slave." Turning a corner, there was a Luan car parked at the corner of the hall leading to the Taiji Palace, surrounded by more than a dozen guards, Xiao Xizi pointed to Luan Jiadao, "The Queen Mother was taken out and sent to Luanjia, waiting for Liu Teng and them to come." ”

Ying'e said angrily, "Once the queen mother, do you have to wait for a eunuch to deal with it?" After speaking, he also hurt Xiaoxizi, and the apologetic eyes were passed to Xiaoxizi.

Xiao Xizi said with an indifferent face, "Niangniang, I don't mean the slave, the slave just wants the queen mother to be safe, even if it is a cheap life for the slave." After speaking, he couldn't help but shed tears again, and he was afraid that the tears would drop into the medicine jar, so he hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve, walked two steps to Luan's car, handed the medicine jar to Yilian, and said cautiously, "Queen Mother, Concubine Ying Niangniang asks to see." ”

Suddenly, there was a weak cough sound in Luan's driving, an obviously thin hand opened the sedan curtain, and the two phoenix eyes on a bloodless face were cloudy, Ying'e looked at this once peerless beauty of the Great Wei Dynasty who was now so haggard, she couldn't help grief, puffed down, knelt down and moved to Luan's car, holding the sedan chair and crying, "It is said that the Queen Mother is a Qing Cultivation Buddha, and several people know that the Queen Mother has been tortured to this point, and the Queen Mother has not seen the light of day all day long, and it is not painful for the world to spread it." The Queen Mother, Ying'e is useless, and she can't do a moment of filial piety while guarding the Queen Mother, so please punish the Queen Mother. ”

Although the Queen Mother suffered a catastrophe, she still maintained her dignity and majesty, she motioned to Yilian to help Ying'e up, and said softly, "It's enough for you to have this filial piety, you come close." ”

Ying'e wanted to take another step forward, but was stopped by the guards, but was frightened by the cold light in Ying'e's eyes, she approached and saw more clearly that the queen mother was described as withered, if the pearl lost its dazzling luster, it was dull and suffocating. The Queen Mother motioned for her to come over and asked in a low voice, "Where is King Qinghe buried now?" ”

When Ying'e heard that the Queen Mother had already known that King Qinghe had passed away, she hesitated for a moment, and slowly took out a plain white purse from her underwear, embroidered with the three friends of the year and the cold, and raised her hands above her head to serve the Queen Mother. When the Queen Mother saw this situation, she couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart and guessed a few points. She couldn't help but take the purse with a trembling hand, opened it and saw the mottled blood stains on a white scarf, she closed her eyes in pain, took a long breath, and held back for fear of being seen in distress, "Is it painful for him to die?" ”

Ying'e wanted to say lies to comfort, but she felt that the Queen Mother was not an ordinary woman, only bad news could make her cheer up again, and only if she cheered up Da Wei could she have hope, she felt that she was really cruel at the moment, "King Qinghe was stabbed to death with a knife, and he was covered in no skin, and there were traces of him crawling on the bluestone of Yongxiang, so the direction should be to see the Queen Mother." ”

Xiao Xizi knelt in front of Ying'e with a crying voice, and begged, "Concubine Yingniang, my queen mother's phoenix body has not healed, and she can't work hard and hurt her heart, please don't say it." ”

The Queen Mother's body trembled slightly, and Yi Lian hurriedly handed over the medicine bowl, "The Queen Mother mourns, and her body is important." The Queen Mother took a drink and drank it all, held the medicine bowl tightly, was silent for a while, her slightly reddened eyes flashed with tears, but she endured the heartache, she took a deep breath and continued to ask, "Has the emperor ever used his daily court affairs carefully?" ”

Ying'e thought for a moment, and couldn't bear to see that sad face, she lowered her head and said softly, "Ying'e rarely sees the emperor, although she doesn't know how to answer the queen mother's questions, she can guess if she thinks the queen mother." ”

The Queen Mother put down her hand that lifted the curtain, as if she didn't want to look at the complicated scene outside, and said in a low voice, "Okay, you have also seen the mourning family, but you should also go back, you don't have to find this strategy to see the mourning family in the future." This rain is coming, and those who are supposed to come are coming. ”

The sky finally tore open the dark clouds that had accumulated and whipped at its wounds, squeezing the water all over its body, and in an instant the torrential rain poured down. In an instant, the raging flames were extinguished, and the smoke gradually cleared. Ying'e stood soaking wet in the rain and began to shiver, and Qihua took off her coat and put it on top of her head. The Queen Mother's Luan was in the rain, the curtain was already soaked, Xiao Xizi anxiously stomped back and forth, pointed at the chief of the guard and scolded, "Something that doesn't open your eyes, such a heavy rain, let the Queen Mother get drenched in the rain here?" ”

The head of the guard glanced at him contemptuously, and snorted in his mouth, "Father-in-law, do you still think this is the Jiafu Palace?" The little one has already sent someone to ask Mr. Liu, without his instructions, you will be wronged first, wait ha. ”

Yi Lian, who was standing silently on the side, couldn't hold back any longer, and slapped the captain on the right side of the guard's face, "What are you, and what is Manager Liu, the queen mother's golden body, I want to wait for you in the rain to arrange a place to go, is this an attempt to rebel?" ”

When the chief guard saw that he was slapped by a palace maid, he immediately looked at each other angrily, raised his hand and wanted to fight back, but his hand did not fall, and the left side of his face was hot again, and he was so angry that he was about to get angry, and when he raised his eyes and saw Ying'e who was glaring at him, his arrogance was suddenly extinguished.

This scene was seen by Liu Teng, who came slowly in a sedan chair, and he let the sedan chair man get off the sedan chair, and the yin and yang strange aura said, "Ying Concubine Niangniang is so angry, these coarse people, with thick skin and thick meat, carefully Niangniang's hands hurt." Our family heard that there was a fire in the Niangniang's dormitory, and we were very anxious, you said that if this hurt the Queen Mother, how would it be good, it seems that it is still our family's fault, and I sent this useless palace maid to Niangniang to make Niangniang angry. Come on, take Qi Ying down and reward two hundred lashes. ”

Ying'e didn't expect Liu Teng to give such a heavy punishment, not to mention two hundred lashes, fifty lashes would also kill Qi Wan, she stopped the fierce guard who dragged Qi Wan away, pointed at Liu Teng and said, "Mr. Liu doesn't ask the reason for the matter, and the sentence is made before the trial, what is the reason?" Not to mention that the fire was caused by me accidentally knocking over the candlestick. It's now that the rain is pouring down, and the Queen Mother Luan is driving here, don't you say that you will greet the Queen Mother first and arrange for the next person to properly place the Queen Mother, but you only think about curing the sin of a little palace maid, what is the reason? ”

Liu Teng said with a sneer, "If Concubine Ying really cares about the safety of the Queen Mother so much, how could she accidentally knock over the candlestick and burn the Xuanguang Palace?" Niangniang has received the guilt, and this palace maid also has the responsibility of not taking care of Niangniang, so she should be beaten. After saying that, he covered his mouth with his hand and smiled.

The yin and yang weird tone and the orchid finger that was about to poke into the sky made Ying'e feel disgusted, and she protected Qihua behind her, "When the Queen Mother is here, even if I receive the responsibility, I will punish the Queen Mother." Qihua is the maid in my palace, and the rewards and punishments are also in accordance with the rules of the palace, determined by the queen, or I can dispose of it myself, and it is not my father-in-law's turn to put the beak. ”

Liu Teng said with a dark smile, "According to Niangniang's words, then there is really no need for our family in this palace." It's just that now our queen mother is concentrating on worshipping the Buddha, and she doesn't have the heart to manage the harem, and the emperor doesn't care about the affairs of the harem, the queen has not been in good health recently, and I don't know who the concubine wants to deal with a palace maid in your Pujia Palace. After speaking, he waved his hand for the guards to do it and pulled Qi Wan down.

Ying'e was so angry that she had to protect her life, but her body was thin, she was noisy and shouting in the pulling, and a sharp voice shocked the audience, "Stop, I'm not dead yet, this Da Wei is still in my charge." "Ying'e has not heard of Empress Dowager Hu calling herself by me for a long time, when the curtain was lowered to listen to the government, the ministers wrote to respect your majesty, Empress Dowager Hu called herself me, and later returned to the government after Yuan Xu, only called herself a mourning family.

She looked up and saw Empress Dowager Hu standing on top of Luan, Xiao Xizi holding an umbrella behind her, Yilian holding her with both hands, like a phoenix born of nirvana in the storm, fluttering its golden wings and looking proudly at the common people. Her beauty is suffocating, although she has faded away from the palace clothes, her clothes are simple, but her eyebrows are domineering, and a pair of phoenix eyes flashed with a fiery aura of destroying the world and destroying the world, she was angry, within a few months of being imprisoned, she was humiliated and ravaged by Yuan Yi, and was monitored and detained by Liu Teng If the prisoner was isolated from the world, she endured the humiliation that she had never endured, just to know the news of Yuan Yi, and now the last bit of hope has become despair, the pain of eternal separation between heaven and man, so that if the trapped beast awakens, if the phoenix is reborn, under the shock of majesty, all the guards of the palace are prostrate on the ground, Three calls for the Empress Dowager to be a thousand years old. Seeing this, Liu Teng suddenly felt that his legs seemed to be a little weak, and he was pushed by Ying'e, and he also knelt on the ground, he struggled to stand up, and as soon as he raised his head, he was deterred by the gaze of the Empress Dowager Hu, and slowly knelt on the ground again.

The Queen Mother spoke slowly, but the words were sonorous, "I am the queen mother of the dynasty, and the emperor is my own son. Today, the concubine accidentally touched the candle, causing the Xuanguang Hall to go to the water, although it was unintentional, but it was a violation of the palace rules, and I punished her for reciting scriptures in Yaoguang Temple, and she was not allowed to return to the palace without a will. The maid Qihua did not serve the lord effectively, and was punished with a cane for twenty years, and the punishment was also out of the palace. After speaking, he glanced at Liu Teng contemptuously, "Gonggong Liu, what objections do you have to my judgment?" ”

Although Liu Teng knew in his heart that the Queen Mother deliberately let Ying'e out of the palace, he couldn't ignore it, so he had to nod his head and agree. Empress Dowager Hu watched the fire of Xuanguang Hall gradually dim under the heavy rain, looked in the direction of Taiji Palace, and felt a little lost in her heart, Ying'e guessed that maybe she was hoping that the emperor could come to see her, but it was such a big fire, and the emperor didn't come to greet her, but the estrangement between mother and son could not be dissolved by this fire.

After the fire subsided, when the smoke cleared, Liu Teng saw that the west hall only burned some interiors, but the palace structure was not damaged in the slightest, so he locked the Empress Dowager Hu in the east hall. At the same time, after Bai Cheng tortured Qi Cheng in accordance with the Empress Dowager's decree, he was sent to Yaoguang Temple with Ying'e, and said to Bai Cheng before leaving, "This girl is a ghost, it's time to set fire, fortunately Lord Yuan accompanied the emperor out hunting yesterday, otherwise I would have seen you today." If you go to Yaoguang Temple, don't come back yet, and I don't worry about other people, that girl's every move is reported to me in person every day. ”

Bai Cheng was puzzled, "Godfather, this concubine is just a teenage girl, do you need me to monitor it personally?" The son also has a few clever and loyal men under him, who are sure to take on this important task. ”

Liu Teng's cold gaze shot at Bai Quan, so frightened that he didn't dare to raise his head, "If she is really the little girl you said, you will be my godfather and I will be confused, let you go?" The Queen Mother arranged for her to go to Yaoguang Temple, where the Queen Mother's aunt was. Now that the border town is in rebellion, her father's power is growing stronger and stronger in the north, so she sent you to monitor and wait for an opportunity to see if she can win over. ”

Bai Cheng suddenly realized and nodded again and again, "Godfather is thoughtful, my son understands what Godfather means, and he will definitely do things properly, please rest assured." ”

Liu Teng looked up at the cloudy sky and said, "Let's go down, it's too dry this day, it's time for a change." ”

Bai Cheng said with a flattering smile, "My son congratulates his godfather first, and he will be the godfather." ”

Liu Teng sneered, straightening his clothes, "Good son, let's take care of this matter for my godfather first." Oh, and your godmother's jade and gold bracelet that fell in love with Ruyixuan, my godfather can't take care of it these days, when you go out of the palace, help your godmother take it, and the silver is looking for Liu Shen. ”

Bai Quandao, "Godfather, don't worry, my son must have done these two things properly, it's been three months since my godmother entered the door, and my son hasn't been filial piety well, so the bracelet is my son's filial piety." ”

Liu Teng smiled and said nothing, boarded the sedan chair and left, Bai Quan saw him walking away, spat on the ground, and scolded in his heart, "What godmother, that one named Lirong was only killed by you for a few days, and I happily accepted a yuan to play with the rest of the woman, but unfortunately such a person can't look down on you, and I don't know how many branches of that apricot are in other yards." I have been saddling the horse for you for so long, and I have easily earned some money for you, and I have been waiting for you to be carried by this old dog, but I have waited for so long, and I have waited until you are in a high position and have been replaced by a bunch of powerful godsons, who still treat me as a dog for you, and still want to exploit me. It seems that there is no benefit left with you, and I still have to leave a way back for myself. ”

Bai Quan's heart has been decided, the next day before leaving the palace, he went to Ruyi Xuan to buy a jade carved gold bracelet and sent it to Liu Teng's other courtyard in Luoyang.