It was sunny for several days, and the ancient weeping willows in the courtyard were roasted and shiny in the sun. At nightfall, the sky was covered with brilliant orange colors, like a dazzling firelight, gradually extinguished, and a blue rose up. The courtyard where Qingcheng lives is not big, but the green pine eaves cover the sky and the sun, there are many birds and beasts and different grasses, the breeze is slow, and it is very cool.

Hai'an brought refreshments into the house, and when he saw Qingcheng sewing clothes under the lamp with candles, he said: "The work of needlework is handed over to the slave maid, why bother the master to do it." ”

Qingcheng didn't raise his head, and said, "I want to make a bed robe for the emperor with my own hands." As he spoke, he instructed: "Don't reveal half a word in front of the emperor, it's Halloween Day soon, and I'll present it in person." ”

There was a eunuch under the corridor and said: "Enlighten the noble Su, the emperor asked the servant to bring you a decoction." Since he was a person in front of the emperor, Hai An hurriedly greeted him with a smile and said, "There is Gonggong Lao." ”

The eunuch said: "It is the duty of the slave, and there is no need to be polite." After a pause, he said: "The emperor said, this is a recipe prepared by the imperial hospital to relieve the heat, and it is not easy to get hot after eating." ”

Hai'an held the medicinal tea with Qingcheng, who looked at the black and yellow soup, frowned, pinched his nose and drank it in one gulp.

The emperor was so careful that he even asked someone to prepare rock candy, and the green orange melted in his mouth for a while, and he felt better. There was another knocking sound outside the window, and Qingcheng asked, "I've been knocking everywhere for a day, but what's going on?" ”

Hai'an's eyes flashed, he cleaned up the tea tray, and said quietly: "The slave and maid don't know very well, so I'll ask someone to ask for a while." ”

The next day, when I woke up in the morning, it rained a little, and finally it was a little cool, and when the sun rose, it was unbearably hot.

Qingcheng had just had breakfast, and the emperor had returned from the previous dynasty and exclaimed, "The weather is really hot." He was wearing a silk silk gauzy gown, and his body was long and jade, and he walked from the shade of the trees and flowers, and he was extremely handsome and graceful.

Qingcheng twisted the cold water towel, wiped the emperor's face, and said, "The emperor wants to eat frozen watermelon?" ”

The emperor said, "Pour me a bowl of ice cheese." ”

Hai'an agreed, Qingcheng picked up a silk embroidered butterfly white silk fan from the kang, stood beside the emperor, shook it gently, and asked with a smile: "Why did you come back early today?" ”

The emperor unscrewed a few buttons under his neck, sat down on the cool kang, and said, "The matter is not in a hurry, and it will be the same tomorrow." ”

Qingcheng asked again: "Will the emperor go to the former dynasty after staying for a while?" ”

The emperor said, "No." I originally wanted to take you on a cruise to the lake, but the weather was too hot, so I went back another day. ”

Qingcheng sighed: "This year is really hot, it's only June and July, and the heat is overwhelming. ”

The emperor rarely had nothing to do, so he crooked on the kang to read idle books, Qingcheng sat under the window with a sewing box and sewed clothes, the house was quiet, Hai'an opened a new watermelon, peeled the skin, cut it into small pieces, placed the silver fork, carved a large porcelain plate with a carp lotus pattern with white glaze, lifted the curtain and entered the house, saw that the two were separated by a few zhang, each doing their own things, just like an ordinary husband and wife, couldn't help but smile at the corner of his lips, and did not disturb, quietly put the porcelain plate on the kang table, and retreated silently.

Qingcheng's neck was crooked for a long time, and it was very sore, so he stopped his needlework and tilted his head. The emperor happened to see it and asked, "What are you embroidering?" ”

Qingcheng was startled, hurriedly turned sideways, blocked the emperor's sight, and said, "It's okay to leave and right, embroider two purses to pass the time." ”

The Emperor groaned, turned the pages, and immersed himself in his study.

After a late night of wine and snacks, Qingcheng was about to wait for the emperor to change his bedclothes, but the emperor said quietly: "I see that the starlight tonight is excellent, it is better to go out for a walk." Qingcheng looked out the window, and the blue and dark night sky was indeed sprinkled with broken silver, and the stars were dotted with stars, which were particularly bright, so he took two blue forged purses from the cabinet and wore one with the emperor.

The emperor asked, "What is this?" ”

Qingcheng said: "The woods here are lush and there are many mosquitoes, so I made two mosquito repellent medicine bags to avoid being bitten by poisonous insects." ”

The emperor picked it up and smelled it, and the fruit was fragrant. Seeing the emperor come out, Wu Shulai was busy leading the guard of honor, and then, more than ten sheep's horn palace lamps shuttled in the dark, mosquitoes and moths flew, and walked deeper and deeper into the forest along the stone path.

Qingcheng saw that he was far away from the bedroom, so he said, "It's getting late, let's go back." ”

The emperor didn't reply, but silently led her forward. Suddenly, there was a stumbling, and the lights in the hands of the palace maid were all extinguished. It was suddenly pitch black, and Qingcheng didn't have time to react, and the surroundings suddenly brightened up. In front of me is a yurt several feet high, next to it is a neatly cut bamboo, and several rosewood glass lamps are hung on each bamboo, and the candles are brilliant and illuminated all over the sky.

The emperor said, "Follow me in and have a look." ”

Wu Shulai opened the curtain, and Qingcheng followed the emperor into the tent, and there was a huge soft couch inside, and the light yarn hung down and fell straight to the woolen blanket. There are four or five jars of ice bricks next to the couch, which makes the tent cool and refreshing.

Qingcheng looked at the emperor and said, "No wonder I always hear the sound of banging, it turns out that I am setting up a tent." The emperor said, "This is no ordinary tent. After a pause, he said, "You lie down on the couch and try it." As he spoke, he lifted the curtain himself.

Qingcheng's face flushed, and he hesitated.

When the emperor saw her embarrassment, he knew that she was thinking nonsense again, so he smiled and said, "If you don't lie down, I will lie down." He really kicked his boots, climbed on the couch and lay down, pillowed his arms, and said leisurely: "Si Tianjian said that there will be a meteor tonight, do you want to see it?" ”

Following his gaze, Qingcheng looked hesitantly overhead, only to see that the top of the tent was not cowhide, but a whole piece of Western crystal glass. Qingcheng has never seen such a large glass, and in the past, outside the palace, if anyone could install two glass windows, they must show off in front of relatives and friends. A few feet of glass is worth two taels of gold, let alone a few feet.

The emperor was stunned when he saw her, and said with a smile: "What are you doing with the pestle, don't come over quickly." ”

Qingcheng took off his shoes, lay beside him with a surge of thoughts, and said, "Is the emperor specially prepared for me?" It's too extravagant..."

The emperor said: "Now that the country is strong, why not spend some money on the woman I like?" Then he shouted outward, "Turn off the lights." Suddenly, the heavens and the earth slowly fell silent, and only a slight candle flame was still faintly revealing the brilliance.

The emperor leaned over, half leaned on Qingcheng, rubbed his palm unconsciously on her neck, and said, "If you are free in two days, I will take you to the city for a walk." After being silent for a while, he didn't see Qingcheng reply, and said with a smile: "Why don't you speak." His hand unintentionally touched her face, felt wet, stunned, and said, "Are you crying?" ”

Qingcheng let out an "oh" at this time, buried his face in the emperor's arms, and sobbed softly.

The emperor smiled and said, "I haven't spent much effort coaxing you, and you are moved like this." He patted her on the back again and said, "I will give you better in the future, you have to be calm." After a pause, he said faintly: "In addition to the title of queen, I can give you whatever I can give." Qingcheng cried more and more, in the emperor's thick, extravagant, and intoxicating love, she could do nothing.

But he said that Concubine Shun came out of the palace of the noble concubine, and happened to bump into Concubine Xian's shoulder on the palace street, and saw that her face was ruddy, so she smiled and said: "Master Xian looks good." Concubine Xian got off the sedan chair, helped Concubine Shun to walk slowly, and said: "It has been more than half a month since the emperor went to Chengde, and he only took Su Guiren there, and I don't know when I will come back." ”

Concubine Shun said: "I have to come back, the queen is there..."She and Concubine Xian have always been close, like sisters, and they don't hide from each other, and then said in a low voice: "The queen is only afraid that she is pregnant, and as soon as three months pass, she will write a letter to tell the emperor, and when the time comes, the emperor will definitely come back to visit." ”

Concubine Xian thought of her unborn child, and her heart ached, and she almost couldn't breathe.

Concubine Shun saw her like this, knew that she was speechless, and hurriedly relieved: "Don't be discouraged, you are so young, and you have the support of the Queen Mother, and you have opportunities." Concubine Xian said: "What about the support of the Queen Mother, I just had a miscarriage, and the emperor went to Su Guiren." There were so many young and charming newcomers in the palace last month, and the emperor ignored no one, so he took Su Guiren to Chengde for the summer. It can be seen that the person in the emperor's heart is Su Guiren. ”

Concubine Shun was relieved: "Su Guiren is a Han woman, how can she compare with you." Are there still few women favored by the emperor? There are not many Su nobles who are more than her, and there are many Su nobles who are less than her. In short, the former dynasty and the harem are all family backgrounds, who is in the emperor's heart, and what is important. ”

At the end of the palace wall is a blue sky, occasionally a few birds and birds fly by, and the stone beasts with eaves are like silhouette ink paintings. Concubine Xian froze, looked at Concubine Shun sadly, covered her hand and said, "You still think through it, you can be in the deep palace, and you are so comfortable." ”

Concubine Shun said: "The number of people in the palace has only increased, and it has never been a good man, let alone the emperor's family." After a pause, he said, "Don't ask for favor, but ask for no fault." Concubine Xian's thoughts fluctuated, recalling that when she first entered the palace, the emperor treated her with all kinds of mercy, and also built a building and dug a ditch for her, spending tens of millions of dollars. Nowadays, it is difficult to meet each other.

Seeing her stunned pestle, Concubine Shun diverged and said: "I look at the accounts every day, and I see that the most is given in the palace of Shu Guiren, I think the emperor values her, you should pay more attention." ”

Concubine Xian snorted and said, "Her great-grandfather was Lord Nalan Mingzhu of the previous dynasty, and his family background was illustrious. After a pause, he said, "I'll have to be free another day, and I'll meet her again." ”

Shun Concubine said: "I looked at her from a distance before, and she looked very smart. ”

The two talked all the way and walked hand in hand.

After the emperor finished the recital, he hurriedly changed into a bright yellow moire lacked robe. Qingcheng was dressed in a convenient moon-white robe, blessed his body on the threshold, went straight inside, took over the work in the hands of the palace maid, personally dressed the emperor, and asked: "Can the queen mother fall seriously?" ”

The emperor was slightly anxious, and said: "The person who came to pass the news said that the queen mother saw that the weather was good and walked around the imperial garden. I hit the rain, the ground was slippery, and I accidentally broke my foot, and I don't know how badly it hurt. After a pause, he looked at Qingcheng and said, "I wanted to take you to the lake tomorrow, but it didn't work again." ”

The emperor is filial piety and never disobeys the queen mother, Qingcheng knows it well, and hurriedly said: "It's okay, there will be opportunities in the future." ”

Wu Shulai stood under the corridor and bowed down and said, "Long live Lord Qiyu, everything has been prepared, Lord E's asked when you will drive back to Luan." The Emperor had already stepped out and said, "Start driving immediately." ”

The road was bumpy and bumpy, and I rushed non-stop, and when I arrived in Shen, I had arrived at the Forbidden City.

The emperor cleaned his face, slightly straightened his clothes, and went straight to Shoukang Palace to visit. When they arrived at Shoukangmen, Wu Shulai led several ministers from the imperial hospital to arrive in a hurry, but they all dared not come out, knelt on the ground and said, "The slave asks the emperor for peace." ”

The emperor kept at his feet and asked, "How is the Queen Mother's injury?" ”

The ministers hurriedly got up and followed closely behind, and said cautiously: "The Queen Mother twisted her ankle, and it was red and swollen, but fortunately, the bones are intact, and she should be healed after four or five days of rest." The emperor dropped the big stone in his heart, waved everyone to stop, and only took two attendants to the courtyard.

I heard the laughter from afar, and Mama Chang personally greeted her, she didn't see the holy car for many days, so she knelt down and bowed, and raised the curtain, and said: "Long live the Lord is a coincidence, and the Queen Mother only talked about you." ”

The emperor smiled and said, "What do you say? "When the sound fell, the person had entered. The Queen Mother leaned on the throne, kneeling on the pedal with two girls beating their legs, seven or eight chairs were placed underneath, and the flowers and branches were swaying full of concubines.

The Queen Mother said: "Look at your urgency, the mourning family just fell down, it's nothing, it's hard for you to come back all the way." ”

The queen hurriedly got up and asked the emperor to sit down, and the emperor knelt down and saluted first, saying, "Say hello to the emperor's mother, is the emperor's mother feeling better?" The Queen Mother gave her a hand and said with a smile: "It's already much better, it's a hot day, you come back in a hurry, don't suffer the heat, stay for a while and let the people from the imperial hospital make you a few pairs of medicinal tea to drink." ”

The emperor said: "Xie Huang Eniang cares, and my son writes it down." His eyes swept over everyone lightly, and fell on the noble concubine, her face was as warm as jade, and she smiled lightly: "Shu Yao, I'm not here, have you studied calligraphy well?" ”

The noble concubine knew that the emperor would come to Shoukang Palace first to ask for peace, so she deliberately dressed up, with a sapphire-inlaid gold step on her bun, and a pair of small jade jade pendants on her ears, which made her skin white and delicate, like clotted fat. She was the first person to ask questions by the emperor, and she was proud in her heart, and said angrily: "I copied two large pieces of scriptures every day, and I put four or five boxes in them." ”

The emperor smiled: "Seeing is believing, I will go to check and check." ”

The noble concubine couldn't ask for it, and hurriedly said: "If the writing is not good, the emperor is not allowed to blame." The Queen Mother said: "Good boy, the Buddha is sincere, and the handwriting is poor, and it is okay." ”

Concubine Xian also chimed in and said, "The concubine went to greet the noble concubine the day before yesterday, but she only said that she didn't even have time to sleep in the afternoon, and she wanted to write a prayer for the emperor." ”

The emperor nodded approvingly, and said, "If you are so sincere, what reward do you want, you will tell me quietly." ”

Concubine Gao felt very embarrassed, and couldn't help but say with joy: "Thank you, Emperor." As he was talking, a palace man came and said, "Empress Dowager, Su Guiren asks to see you." "Qingcheng has lived in the palace for a long time, and he can't ask for peace for a few days, and the first thing he does when he returns to the palace is naturally to ask for peace in the palace of the queen mother, the queen and the concubines. She hurriedly returned to Qingyunzhai to bathe and change her clothes, dress carefully, and came to Shoukang Palace.

The room was suddenly quiet, and even the queen couldn't help but change her face, everyone was silent when you look at me, I look at you. Concubine Shun smiled first: "Su Guiren has been in the car all day, and it is really hard. ”

The emperor saw that the Queen Mother's face was gloomy and she pursed her lips slightly, so he smiled and said, "If the Queen Mother is tired, it won't be seen." ”

Hearing the emperor say this, the Queen Mother couldn't refute his face and said, "Xuansu nobles come in." ”

Qingcheng is wearing a light-colored blue forged brocade robe, wearing a Hunan concubine-colored flower branch pattern tribute satin palace skirt, combing a square bun, and holding two silk dotted emerald gold hairpins, which are slightly rounder than before, standing in the center, Ying Ying bowed down, and said: "Hello to the Queen Mother, please Hello to the Emperor, please Hello to all the mothers." ”

The Queen Mother looked at her carefully, and saw that her face was quiet, without any arrogance, and her dress was quite dignified and appropriate, so she was not as disgusted as before, and said coldly: "Sit." ”

Qingcheng blessed his body and said, "Empress Dowager Xie." He took out two satin pads the size of square inches from the cuffs, and said respectfully: "The concubine heard that the queen mother was injured on her feet in the morning, and thought that she would use crutches, so she hurried to make two cotton pads in the carriage and sewed them on the handles. ”

Mama took the thin cushion, stroked it in the palm of her hand, and stepped forward, saying, "Little Master Su's embroidery work is really amazing, and it is even better than the embroidery room." ”

The Queen Mother glanced at it, with a slight smile on the corner of her lips, and said, "Su Guiren has a heart." ”

Seeing that the queen mother's face eased, the emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The imperial doctor said that the emperor's mother needs to recuperate, so we won't bother." ”

When the emperor said this, all the people got up and took their leave.

The emperor and queen are in front, and the concubines and concubines are behind, and the green orange is the lowest, walking at the end. The emperor said: "Looking at the queen's face, it's not good. ”

The queen had a secret in her heart, and when she saw the emperor asking, she almost opened her mouth to say it. In the end, he couldn't help it, and only said: "The weather was too hot last night, and I didn't sleep well." The emperor snorted and said, "Tell the people from the Internal Affairs Office to prepare more ice bricks." ”

He turned around and glanced at everyone, wanting to stop Qingcheng and ask a few words, but after a turn of thought, he was afraid that she would be too favored and attract envy, so he said to the noble concubine: "I will go to your palace to sit." ”

The noble concubine raised her eyebrows, glanced at the queen, and said: "The concubine boiled herbal tea in the morning, and the emperor went over to drink two bowls to relieve the heat." ”

The queen was just afraid that she would expose her stuffing, and the emperor didn't go to her palace to meet her wishes, so she smiled gently: "Concubine Gao is really prescient, knowing that the emperor is back, even herbal tea has been prepared." Her attitude made Concubine Gao a little incomprehensible.

Shun Concubine listens to her ears, and her heart is like a mirror.

Lu Concubine, Jin Guiren, and Wang Guiren walked together, and Lu Concubine said first: "The emperor didn't go to Changchun Palace first, the queen lost face, and she was still able to do nothing, putting on a gentle and virtuous appearance, which is really admirable." ”

Wang Guiren smiled and said: "No, the emperor didn't say hello when he saw us, but he treated the queen like that..." Seeing the people leaving, Jin Guicai said in a low voice: "If you have anything to say, go back to your palace and talk slowly, don't mention it on the road, let people hear, but there will be a loss." ”

Concubine Lu said indifferently: "What is in front of me, even if I don't say it, everyone in the palace knows about it." ”

Wang Guiren touched her arm and said with a smile: "Sister Jin is cautious, we should learn more." He raised his eyebrows and said, "You say, whose sign will the emperor lift today?" ”

Concubine Lu was straightforward and said, "Don't you understand very much?" It must have been staying in Xianfu Palace. ”

Wang Guiren smiled slightly, helped the pile of silk flowers on his sideburns, and said: "That's not necessarily, it stands to reason that the emperor has been in the palace for a long time, and he should stay in Changchun Palace." Or perhaps, it is impossible to say if you still go to Yikun Palace. ”

Jin Guiren smiled and said: "Where the emperor goes, it won't be you and me after all, let's not worry." He lowered his voice again and said, "If you want to be annoyed, you should also let the queen and concubine annoy them." Hearing her say this made both of them laugh.

The emperor only returned to Luan, and there were many court affairs to deal with, and he only sat for a while in Xianfu Palace, and then returned to the Yangxin Palace to summon the minister. When he arrived, the twilight was thick, and the emperor was still sitting motionless behind the big rosewood case.

Li Yu stepped forward with a vermilion lacquer plate, which contained the green-headed signs of the concubines of the harem, and he said in a low voice: "Please long live the lord to lift the sign." Seeing that the emperor did not reply, he thought it was "called" and was about to retreat, but the emperor put down his pen again and raised his head.

Li Yu hurriedly presented the plate to the emperor, and the emperor's fingers brushed the green head to sign the card, and then drew it back, repeating it four or five times, but he had not yet made up his mind. Li Yu's arms were sore, but his posture did not move. Halfway through, the emperor unveiled the sign. Li Yu exhaled, lowered his arms, glanced at the plate, knelt down, and slowly withdrew.

Qingcheng sat under the lamp and sewed clothes, comparing the warp and weft. Er Qi lifted the curtain and entered the house, and before he could speak, he heard Qingcheng ask, "Is the emperor here?" Er Qi was stunned and said, "Master, the slave maid just sent someone to the worship room to ask, and the emperor is revealing the brand of Shu Guiren today." ”