After listening to the lecture in the Hongde Palace, the emperor walked to the palace street, and suddenly saw the eunuchs of Changchun Palace coming in a hurry, muttering to Wu Shulai on the side. The emperor raised his face and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Wu Shulai picked up the relaxed words and replied: "The queen ordered the masters of each palace to lead Jiangning to weave new tributes in Changchun Palace, and Master Jia and Master Yu accidentally fell, and Master Yu hurt the fetus..." He glanced at the emperor secretly, the twilight was shrouded, and he didn't see it clearly, but he heard the emperor say in a low voice in the thin black fog: "Go to Changchun Palace." ”

If it is in the temple next to it, such a big thing will definitely make a mess. Fortunately, it is in Changchun Palace, after all, it is the place of the Middle Palace, and the palace people hold their own Queen Fengyi, although they are cautious and careful, they do not lose their composure. The emperor walked into the hall, all the concubines hurriedly got up and bent their knees to say goodbye, the queen came out of the bedroom, and was about to salute, but the emperor flicked his sleeves and said, "Excuse me, how about Concubine Jia and Yu Guiren?" ”

The queen bent her knees in the end, and said: "I have already let the imperial doctor see it just now, Concubine Jia has a bruise on her wrist, and there is nothing beside her." As for Yu Guiren, she saw red in her lower body, and she had fetal gas, and she was afraid that she would have to recuperate for a while. After a brief pause, he said: "The concubine did not think about this matter, and asked the emperor to punish him." The emperor sat down on the kang and asked, "What is going on?" The queen didn't dare to hide it, she told the story as it was, and finally said: "Concubine Shu was afraid afterwards, and she sincerely admitted her mistake, and the concubine ordered her to go back to the palace to think about it, and punished her for two months to show her example." ”

The emperor was silent, bowed his head for a moment, and said, "You handled it very properly." Hearing the emperor's praise, the queen's heart warmed slightly, and she sighed secretly, and was about to thank her, but the emperor said: "For the sake of a satin, the concubines of the two palaces lost their manners, could it be that Su Ri treated them badly?" He clenched his fist and put it on the kang table, which shook the tea saucer and porcelain bowl, and the queen's heart trembled violently, and she quickly knelt down and said, "It's the concubine who has no way to discipline her, please forgive the emperor." ”

Seeing that the situation was not good, Concubine Gao, Concubine Lu and others led the palace people who were waiting inside and outside to kneel down one after another, and said in unison with sincere fear: "Please forgive the emperor." The emperor didn't speak, and the room was dark and pressed to his knees, all of them were silent, and even his breathing was half a minute. Suddenly, a light and clear voice came, saying, "Your Majesty." ”

The emperor turned his face sideways, but it was Qingcheng who helped Hai'an out of the back room, her face was bitter, and she seemed to be extremely patient. Look again, she was bumped under her feet, and she was actually injured. The emperor was stunned and said with concern: "What's wrong with you?" ”

Qingcheng smiled and said, "The concubine is fine, she has turned her ankle and has already been given medicine by the imperial doctor." After a pause, he said: "The emperor went to see Master Jia and Master Yu, the imperial doctor told them to lie down for a while before they could act, and they didn't dare to come out to meet them." ”

The emperor got up, walked inside, Qingcheng gently pulled his arrow sleeve, and snorted at the queen and others, the emperor knew what she meant, turned around and looked, paused for a while, Fang Shen said: "Get up." The queen waited for her to get up, and hurriedly entered. Yu Guiren's fetus was more pneumatic, so he lay on the bed. Concubine Jia was crooked in the rattan chair next to her, and when she saw the emperor coming in, the two of them were busy getting up to say goodbye, and the emperor waved his hand and said, "Lie down, no need to be polite." ”

Yu Guiren's eyes were full of tears, and he sobbed: "The concubine is really..." Don't cry, when you cry, the child in your belly will also be sad. Yu Guiren had never seen the emperor so affectionate, and he felt more and more aggrieved, and couldn't help sobbing.

Concubine Jia's heart was broad, and she didn't take the wrestling thing to heart, and said with a smile: "Don't cry if you don't cry, don't go through a thing, don't grow a wisdom, you fell today, and the dragon heir is fine, in the future, you should know that if you are careful, it will be better than a big loss one day!" The emperor looked at Concubine Jia with a smile and said, "This is very reasonable. When Yu Guiren heard this, he hurriedly took the warm and wet towel from Zhiyan's hand, wiped his tears, and said, "The concubine is also palpitating." ”

Concubine Lu hid the indifferent smile on her lips and said gently: "But I really didn't expect it, the concubine saw the pure master rushing towards Master Yu, but she didn't have time to reach out and help him." The emperor's face froze and asked, "What's the matter?" "Just now, the queen told me, only saying that Concubine Shu and Yu Guiren fell in a fight for satin, which caused everyone, but she didn't say that Qingcheng fell forward.

The queen panicked, glanced at Qingcheng, lifted her skirt and knelt on the ground, and said: "The concubine did see the pure noble concubine pounce on the nobles, but she didn't believe that this move was deliberate, so she didn't dare to say it to the emperor and ask the emperor for forgiveness." Qingcheng bluffed, and since she fell, her momentum was chaotic, and she didn't have time to think carefully about what was going on, and after listening to them, she suddenly remembered that someone seemed to have pushed behind her. She knelt down and kowtowed, but before she could speak, she suddenly heard the emperor drink and said, "Nonsense! ”

Yu Guiren looked at the emperor's gloomy attitude, and did not dare to speak rashly for Qingcheng, and said ambiguously: "The pure master and the concubine have always been close, and the concubine will never believe that she will treat me like this." Concubine Lu said quietly: "Who can say the things in the world..."Before the words were finished, she suddenly saw the emperor glance at herself, and her joyless and angry look shocked her half to death, how dare she say it again.

After half a ring, the emperor said: "Empress, you are the middle palace, you should know what happened." ”

The queen said respectfully: "The emperor has taught him a lesson. The emperor said: "The people of the big house, since you saw the pure noble concubine rushing towards the Yu nobleman, naturally other people will see it." You don't tell me, you don't go to the bottom of it, you just blindly hide it, and when the matter spreads clearly, how can the pure noble concubine still deal with herself in the palace? After a pause, he said: "If it is really a pure noble concubine who makes a mistake, I will never be partial." But if someone is playing any tricks behind her, I will never let her be wronged. ”

The autumn day was slightly cold, although Qingcheng knelt on the cold and bone-chilling gold bricks, and her ankles were burning hotly, listening to the emperor's words, it seemed to reach her heart, and even her internal organs were warm. She kowtowed according to the etiquette and said calmly: "The concubine didn't mean to pounce on Yu Guiren, the concubine thought about it carefully, and vaguely felt that there seemed to be a palace maid with a face passing behind me, and then there was a gravity pushing my waist, and I was defenseless, so I recklessly pounced on Yu Guiren." ”

When Yu Guiren saw that the emperor was protecting the pure noble concubine, he immediately said anxiously: "The concubine believes that the pure noble concubine is innocent, and someone must want to trap her in a dangerous situation, please ask the emperor to learn from it." ”

The emperor said fiercely: "Of course I have to learn from it, the matter of framing the heirs has appeared again and again, if we don't curb and curb this harmful atmosphere, there are still no rules in the palace?!" ”

The queen said with trepidation: "The concubine must be investigated to the end." The emperor looked at the queen indifferently, and said with a colorless face: "This incident happened in your palace, if it is handed over to you to investigate, I am afraid that some people will not accept it." A hint of fierceness flashed in his eyes, and he said, "I will personally deal with it and see where the villain behind it is hiding!" ”

Speaking of the back, they were already gritting their teeth, and everyone looked awe-struck, kneeling on the ground and shouting in unison: "Long live Lord Shengming." ”

Since the emperor urged, the internal affairs office was more neat than usual, and before the time came, all the palace maids who were walking around in Changchun Palace during the day had been tied up, and Qingcheng was allowed to identify them. She didn't remember very clearly, pointing out the four palace maids, but she didn't dare to confirm which one it was. The Ministry of Internal Affairs dragged the four palace maids to the Shen Penal Division and tortured them overnight, until dawn, and no one was willing to admit their guilt.

Qingcheng slept at night and slept in the backyard walled room. When the sky was bright, some palace people called out, Qingcheng rolled up his trouser legs, Hai'an took out a jar of thick black ointment, and then picked a little with a silver pick, and stroked Qingcheng's ankle very lightly and gently. The injury was not too serious, I applied medicine last night, and the swelling had subsided in the morning, but it was red and purple, and it felt a little painful to the touch.

Hai'an worried: "Three days will be the Longevity Festival, and the next day after the Longevity Festival will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. Qingcheng smiled and said, "I happened to say that I had an injury on my foot, so I was free from going to the banquet, but I was happy..."

The emperor smiled: "It's a good idea! ”

Qingcheng hurriedly put down the pants roll, and got up to say goodbye, but his ankle hurt and he plunged forward. The emperor took her in his arms in a few steps, his smile deepened, and said, "It's not too old-fashioned to use such a trick every time." Qingcheng leaned on his arms, struggled to sit down, looked at him softly and smiled, and asked, "Why are you here?" The emperor sat beside her and said, "I was about to go to the south study, and when I saw that the light in the surrounding room was on, I came to take a look." Then he whispered, "Do you have medicine on your feet?" Let me see. ”

Hai An bent his knees and quietly retreated to the door to wait.

The two oil lamps with beans are dim and dim, stretching the figures of the two people very long, reflecting on the plain white screen, like a silhouette under the moon, swaying and shining.

There are still four or five days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, although there are moon cakes in the imperial dining room, but more walnut kernels, almonds, melon seed kernels, hawthorn, lard and it is filled, green oranges are greedy for freshness, and flour, pine nuts and red beans are prepared, and let Hai'an pick the new osmanthus flowers this year, take the moon cake mold carved by the old pear wood, and announce the cook to serve in the flower hall, and learn to wrap the moon cakes by hand. Qingcheng is a native of Suzhou and Hangzhou, and has heard Su Shi's poems since he was a child: "The small cake is as round as the moon, and there is crisp and syrup inside." "When I was a child, I also boiled bean paste with my mother and grandmother. She first washed the red beans with water, steamed them and grinded them into a puree. Then put the sugar into the pot and boil it into a pulp, so that it can be picked into shreds with chopsticks, until it boils, then add the red bean paste, pine nuts and lard, and wait until it is not sticky.

I did it for a day, and by the evening there were only two finished dishes. Qingcheng personally held it and sent it to the Yangxin Palace to taste it, the emperor has never liked sweetness, took a bite of it, and nodded in appreciation: "The skin is crispy and crispy, the oil is heavy but not greasy, sweet and salty." After thinking for a moment, he said with a surprised face: "You also put osmanthus flowers in it?!" ”

Qingcheng smiled and said, "And roses!" ”

The emperor nodded and said, "No wonder there is a fragrance in the mouth, so it is." He also advised: "You send the rest to Shoukang Palace, the Queen Mother likes to eat moon cakes, and she will be overjoyed when she sees your mind." Qingcheng agreed, and then ordered.

On the day of the Longevity Festival, the emperor was bowed down by the princes and ministers in the Taihe Hall and made a celebration ceremony. The emperor was benevolent and filial, and went to Shoukang Palace at noon to serve the Queen Mother's dinner, and set up a family banquet in the Qianqing Palace at the time of the unitary time. Another day is the Mid-Autumn Festival. The emperor wore a moon-white silk gold-rimmed robe, a turquoise hat, a white jade cloud dragon pattern belt around his waist, and led hundreds of officials to the moon altar to worship the moon god.

At the beginning of the time, the emperor drove back to the Qianqing Palace, the palace set up His Majesty Dale, there was a golden dragon banquet table in front of the throne, the left side set up the queen's banquet table, the right side was the queen mother's banquet table, and the rest of the concubines were sorted left and right. According to the old practice of previous years, the imperial dining room paid tribute to the moon cakes weighing two catties, which were engraved with patterns such as Chang'e and moon rabbits. The queen led the concubines to toast the emperor and the queen mother, and knelt and bowed. The eldest brother and the third elder brother brought the eldest brother and the third elder brother to the emperor and queen mother to say goodbye.

The Queen Mother looked more and more happy, and rarely praised: "The pure noble concubine is well-born, look at the small appearance of the third elder brother, and her eyebrows and eyes are very similar to the emperor." Qingcheng has never seen the third elder brother since he gave birth, and he was panicked, and he didn't dare to show it in front of the Queen Mother, but he bent his knees respectfully and said, "Thank you for your praise." ”

When the emperor saw her look stunned, he knew what she was thinking, so he smiled and said, "Take it to the pure noble concubine to see." The waiting Jingqi Mama responded, and hurriedly hugged to the Qingcheng banquet table, Qingcheng was stunned for a moment, and was a little hesitant.

Mama Jingqi smiled and said, "Pure master, hug me quickly, the third elder brother is smiling at you." ”

Qingcheng seemed to be unconscious, holding the third elder brother in his arms, his posture was stiff, half loud, and the bottom of his heart suddenly gave birth to joy, the mist was hazy, and he almost wanted to cry. The emperor saw it in his eyes, and said: "Just let the pure noble concubine hold it, and let their mother and son be reunited." ”

Qingcheng hurriedly said: "Thank you for the emperor's grace." ”

The Queen Mother is also a person who has been born and raised, and she knows the pain well, so she did not stop it.

After tasting the moon cakes, the Internal Affairs Office presented the fat crabs, all wrapped in freshly picked pu leaves, steamed in a bamboo cage, accompanied by warm Shaoxing rice wine, the emperor and concubines sat around, drinking and eating crab meat, a happy scene. After eating the crab, the eunuch presented Suye soup again, and everyone washed their hands to go fishy, and then moved into the court to watch the play and admire the moon.

The sky was clear, the moon was as round as a jade disk, and a few thin wisps of clouds were gently wandering. After the banquet was dispersed, Qingcheng was slightly drunk, and sat on his shoulder and returned to Yikun Palace. After changing into auspicious clothes and cleaning his face, Hai An brought the sobering soup and said with a smile: "The slave didn't see it, the master's amount of wine is really good." Qingcheng looked at his face in the large glass mirror and said, "The roots of the ears are red." After drinking the decanting soup, he remembered that there were still many fresh fruits and mooncakes left in the kitchen, so he ordered: "You ask the cook to take all the remaining mooncakes and divide them." Today, except for the eunuch who guards the door in the straight room, and the palace maid who keeps vigil in the house, there is nothing important next to them, and you don't have to stay up all night to serve, you can have some fun by yourself. ”

Hai An said: "The master thinks about the people below and treats them leniently, but I don't know what kind of presumptuous they have become." ”

Qingcheng's cheeks were crimson, and she smiled and said: "Today is the great solar term of reunion, who doesn't have a person in their hearts?" It's better to make a fuss than to be bored. Hai'an belched and said with a smile: "The master is right, the slave and maid will go down and order." After a pause, he said: "If not, just let the cook set the table and banquet in the backyard, and everyone will laugh and admire the moon together, which is just fun." ”

Er Qi happened to enter the house, and after only half listening to it, he cheered happily and said, "That's really good, the slave maid has been in the palace for three or four years, and she hasn't eaten a banquet yet." Hai An raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "Look at your lack of temperament, eat a table, and be happy like this." ”

Qingcheng felt festive and said, "She has a good temperament, and I am happy to hear it." In this way, Hai'an went down and ordered, extinguished most of the lights in the front yard, shouted that everyone gathered in the backyard with high talk, and really set up two tables, with wine and meat, fresh fruits, moon cakes and timely pastries, which were full, and everyone was happy to drink and have fun.

The emperor worked hard for several days in a row, and forced himself to disperse, and he was already tired and unbearable. He returned to the Heart Cultivation Palace, changed his ordinary coat, and sat down for a while, and then Wu Shulai knelt forward and asked softly: "Please let the Lord show me, do you want to rest in the Heart Cultivation Hall today, or go to Changchun Palace?" The emperor leaned on the dragon chair, covered his forehead with his hand, and paused for a while before saying, "Let's get started." ”

Dozens of palace people carried yellow gauze palace lamps in front, the emperor sat on the holy opinion, looked at Yikun Palace from afar, only to see the lights dim, faintly heard the sound of laughter, he wondered in his heart, and said: "Go to Yikun Palace to see." Wu Shulai was afraid of this, and he had been terrified since he came out of the Heart Cultivation Palace, and now that this is the case, he was so shocked that he bowed down and said: "Master, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to the old rules of the ancestors, you have to stay in Changchun Palace." Besides, the Queen..."

The emperor's eyes widened, and he said, "I know the rules of the palace better than you." Wu Shulai, your brain hasn't grown much, but there is more and more nonsense. Wu Shulai smiled shyly: "Long live the lord, since the slave is the chief eunuch of the Heart Cultivation Palace, he always has to keep his duty, isn't it..." ”

Wu Shulai hurriedly said: "Emperor Xie praises..."Before the words fell, he heard the emperor say: "Why don't you go to the side on an errand tomorrow?" After finishing his words, Wu Shulai was so frightened that he hurriedly led the guard of honor to Yikun Palace.

When they arrived at the Yikun Gate, there were only two little eunuchs left in the straight room, and when they saw two figures in the dark, they didn't even hit the lanterns, and they didn't care who they were, so they shouted: "The Yikun Palace has been locked, and I'll come back tomorrow if there is something." "Wherever the emperor goes, he has always been greeted by a big group of people, and he can't help but be stunned when he receives such treatment.

Wu Shulai shouted: "Little rabbit cub, don't get out and take over!" ”

The little eunuch heard that it was Wu Shulai's voice, and was half frightened to death, so he hurriedly opened the willow nail door, knelt on the ground and slapped his mouth, and said, "The slave should die, the slave should die." The emperor waved his hand and said, "That's it." As he spoke, he stepped inside.

The emperor traveled all the way to Qingyunzhai, but there was no palace attendant on duty. The lights in the flower hall and the east room have been extinguished, and only the west room is still slightly bright. There was a eunuch under the corridor who was half-leaning and half-sitting on the bed, and when he saw someone under the moon, he first bluffed himself and reprimanded: "Who is it?" When it got closer, Fang saw that it was the emperor, and hurriedly knelt down to say goodbye. The palace maid who was on night duty inside heard the movement, and walked out, her eyes widened, and she was about to speak, but she saw the emperor make a boo gesture.

Lifted the felt curtain and entered the west room, there were two wall veil lamps lit in the room, the curtain hung low, she held a bed of blue lotus-colored forged silk Hunan embroidered quilt, lying inside. She hadn't fallen asleep yet, when she heard the sound of rustling, and asked in a loud voice, "What happened?" She didn't hear anyone reply for a long time, and a faint figure walked towards the bed, her brain exploded, and she suddenly sat up from the quilt, and asked reflexively: "Who?" ”

The emperor raised the curtain, stood beside the couch, and said with a slight smile: "I scared you? ”

Qingcheng saw that it was the emperor, breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest and said: "Don't let people spread it..."Thinking that it was wrong, he asked again: "Shouldn't the emperor be in Changchun Palace at this time?" Her green silk was spread halfway through, her pretty white face exuded a moist brilliance in the light, and the ribbon of her clothes gradually faded, revealing her smooth and smooth shoulders.

The emperor gently brushed the drooping hair in front of her to the back of her head, put his palm on the tender shoulder, and said: "During the family banquet, I saw you holding the third elder brother in a daze, thinking that you were not happy, so I came to take a look." Qingcheng said lonely: "The rules in the palace, what can I do if I am not happy?" I am also satisfied to be able to hug him today. ”

She stared at the emperor and said, "It's you, you came to me on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, broke the rules, let the Queen Mother know, and scolded her." The emperor said: "I let the guard of honor guard guard on the palace street, and I only followed Wu Shulai by my side, and after seeing you, I will drive Changchun Palace." If I have the heart to hide it, who would dare to chew my tongue? As he spoke, he leaned over and kissed her face, and his hand was not taboo, and he pulled the belt of his clothes and drilled straight into it, but after a while, Qingcheng was panted by him.

Wu Shulai shouted outside: "Long live the lord, it's not too early, it's time to drive." "The emperor is on the rise, if he is poured a bucket of cold water, if it weren't for Wu Shulai standing in the flower hall, the emperor would definitely kick over. Although Qingcheng didn't want to, there was no way to do it, she couldn't afford to spoil the great sin of the ancestral system, so she pushed the emperor, turned her face and said, "You go." ”

The emperor took her sideways in his arms, patted her on the back, and said softly: "I promise you, when you are promoted to concubine, I will take the third elder brother out and let you raise her personally." "Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there are only a handful of Han girls who can be concubines, and most of them are supported by parents and brothers.

The lights in the Changchun Palace are brilliant, and the palace maids and eunuchs are all cautious and waiting. The queen changed into a long jacket with light blue and dark flowers, and shook her crested head with two fulcrums of emerald and inlaid with eastern pearls, and helped Shanrou to stand in Changchun Gate and looked forward to it. At the end of the hour, I saw that the royal driver was late. The queen led everyone to meet her, and bent her knees and said, "The emperor is blessed with Jin'an." ”

The emperor personally picked up the empress, took her hand and walked to the inner hall, and said with a smile: "I came late, so I made you wait for a long time." ”

Seeing his warmth and affection, the queen unconsciously felt a little shy, and said: "The emperor has been tired recently, it's really hard, what is it for the concubines to wait." The emperor was very pleased to hear that she knew etiquette and etiquette, and knew how to measure proportions, and said: "You are also very hard to manage the affairs of the harem. The two of them politely walked slowly to the dormitory.

Stripped of their clothes, the two of them lay down together, barely having much preface, and went straight to the center of gravity. For the emperor, she is a wife, just like the ancestral system, in addition to the emperor's bedroom, in addition to the emperor's bedroom, he must stay in the queen's palace, and he has the responsibility to show grace to her. Although they were extremely tired, they were young and vigorous, and after half an hour, the two of them rested.