The emperor got up and went to the study, and Concubine Xian sent the saint to Jingren Gate, and then turned back to the house. Under the eaves, there are several bright yellow palace lamps, the faint light is shrouded like smoke, and the long figure falls straight into the wide courtyard, mixed with the shadow of the horizontal branches, and it is more and more lonely. Concubine Xian stood on the platform, looking at the clear and waveless sky, the refreshing morning breeze blowing by, but an indescribable sorrow rose in her heart, which made people feel lost.

Luo Qing led the palace people to step forward with basins, towels, green salt and other things, and said respectfully: "Master, the wind is slightly cool, but don't catch the cold." Concubine Xian suddenly came back to her senses, mumbled, and helped Luo Qing to sit down in the hall. Luo Qing twisted the veil and waited for Concubine Xian to clean her face, rinse her mouth, drank Qingxin tea, and saw that she was depressed, so she smiled and said: "The emperor has given the master the right to assist in the six palaces, and the master should be happy." Concubine Xian smiled faintly and said abruptly: "I should be happy." ”

Before breakfast, someone from the Internal Affairs Office came to pay respects, followed by the Jingshi Room, the Punishment Division, and the Xin Zheku... Then the chief eunuchs and grandmothers of the palaces came to ask for peace. After breakfast, concubines came to talk one after another, so as not to have a pleasant greeting. It wasn't until lunchtime that Jingren Palace was a little quieter.

Concubine Xian asked someone to close the palace door, only saying that she had a lunch break and no one was seen, so she was able to take a breath. She was so tired that she looked at the ledger and fell asleep. Luo Qing didn't dare to disturb, so she covered her with a thin blanket and watched the movement carefully.

After two pillars of incense, Luo Qing saw her eyes open, and hurriedly called softly: "Master, the hour is still early, it is better to lie down on the couch again." Concubine Xian was completely awake, looked at the thick entry and exit on the table, shook her head, and said, "You call someone to pick up Concubine Shun." Luo Qing didn't ask much, and promised to go out and order. But after a while, Concubine Shun came in a sedan chair. Concubine Xian has been refreshed, and when Concubine Shun saw her red face, she smiled and said, "Congratulations to my sister for regaining her favor!" ”

Concubine Xian said, "You are also joking." ”

The two entered the house hand in hand and sat on the kang facing each other. Concubine Shun looked at the stacked accounts on the table and said with a smile: "The emperor treats the queen very intimately, I heard from the palace people in the morning that Changchun Palace even has felt blankets in the courtyard to prevent falling." Concubine Xian took the teacup presented by Luo Qing, gently blew the hot air in her hand, and said, "Didn't the pure noble concubine Huai San Elder Brother catch all the wild cats in the imperial garden?" Suddenly, he raised a chewy smile and said: "When the emperor favors anyone, he always goes to the soup and does his best, even if he spends millions of silver, he will not blink an eyelid." ”

Concubine Shun smiled wistfully and said, "Back then, in the Hidden Mansion, the Moon Tower spent 100 gold, wasn't it just to enjoy the moon with you?" At that time, I don't know how many people were envious! Concubine Xian recalled the previous years, became more and more worried, and said: "What do you do with those in plain terms." Concubine Shun said: "Now that you are back in favor, although it is not as good as back then, you also have the right to associate the six palaces, which is really gratifying." ”

Concubine Xian said: "It's just that others say this, don't you know?" It's all for the queen! Yesterday, he also told me that he would leave the queen's production to me, so that if there are three long and two short things in Changchun Palace, he will not be able to spare me. ”

Concubine Shun didn't think of this, and said in surprise: "How come..."

Concubine Xian smiled sadly: "The emperor's temperament... If he really still has me in his heart, how can he be willing to let me work day and night to assist in the six palaces? It should be like a pure noble concubine, doing nothing every day, and messing with him is true. ”

Although Concubine Shun is one of the four concubines of the harem, she has never been favored, and since she was snubbed by the queen and seized the power of assistant, she has never seen the holy driver alone. She said: "Yesterday, the emperor also asked the pure noble concubine to dispose of Concubine Lu... Lu Guiren. With the emperor and queen here, it is unheard of for her to be disposed of by a concubine. At this point, he fell silent.

After being silent for a while, Concubine Xian spoke: "In the future, you will come over to help me clean up the accounts after breakfast every day, I don't believe anyone in the palace except you." Concubine Shun expected that it was for this, so she nodded sharply and said, "Okay." ”

The matter of Qingcheng descending to Lu Concubine as a noble person has spread, and if it is said that it violates the palace rules, it is really overstepping. But with the emperor behind him, others can't say anything. Erqi is getting more and more comfortable doing things outside, and whoever bumps into her has to be polite, giving what she wants, and after a long time, she gradually grows arrogant. Qingcheng looked at her eyes, a little worried, sometimes bumped into her, just said two words to her, she is good, listen to it, can converge for two or three days, and then it will be the same.

Hai An lifted the curtain from outside and said, "Master, long live the lord is here." Before the words fell, the emperor had already entered the house. Qingcheng was wearing a moon-white lotus-patterned middle garment, without rouge, with black silk hanging down, sitting in a bun in front of the dresser, looking at the emperor from the mirror, frowning and saying, "Why don't you let people spread it?" The palace people who were waiting all invited Shuang'an, and Qingcheng wanted to get up, but the emperor pressed her shoulder, motioned for her to sit, and said with a smile: "Are all your hands ready?" ”

Qingcheng stretched out the back of his hand to show him, and said, "At noon, the imperial doctor removed the gauze and gave him an ointment to remove marks, saying that it would not leave a mark if it was wiped out." The Emperor took her hand, looked at it for a moment, and said, "It's all right." Qingcheng said: "What do you mean by "okay", maybe you have to leave a scar, and then you will be ugly again. ”

The emperor rubbed it, it felt warm and smooth to the touch, and then said, "It's not in the way." After a pause, he smiled and said, "I have something good to reward you." He raised his face towards Wu Shulai, Wu Shulai understood, walked to the threshold and gestured, and a eunuch outside entered the house holding a small box of vermilion lacquered paulownia and handed it to Wu Shulai. The emperor took the wooden box and unscrewed the silver buckle, but it was two identical pomegranate-shaped pocket watches. The pocket watch is decorated with garnet red translucent cloisonné enamel, but it is the size of a walnut, but it is inlaid with countless pomegranate-like pearls, which is delicate and delicate, which is very rare.

Qingcheng saw that he liked it, and couldn't help but reach out and take one and play with it in his hand. The emperor smiled, "Do you know how to open it?" Qingcheng saw the pocket watch left by Kangxi in the Heart Cultivation Palace, but she had never had it, she broke it hard, and found that there was no movement, so she said: "You help me open it." The emperor rarely became a teacher, he picked up another pocket watch, clasped the bump on the side with his thumb, and said, "You press here." The two pressed at the same time, and the pocket watch opened with a "bang", which was inlaid with blue enamel, painted with rich flowers, and had a scale and seconds in the center.

The emperor smiled: "One for each of us." After a pause, he said, "This is a gift from King George III, and they have brought several boatloads of things. Pomegranates have many sons and many blessings, and they come in pairs, which means good. ”

Qingcheng counted the pearls on the pocket watch very seriously, and said with a smile: "It's really interesting, does the emperor really want to reward me?" When the emperor saw that her lips were slightly open, her breath was like a quiet orchid, and she was bright and moving in the light, swaying more than the flowers and bones of the deep spring, and his heart was as soft as a pool of autumn water, and he said: "When did I lie to you?" Hypocritical little things, you have to ask knowingly. ”

Everyone in the room saw the situation, and they all bowed down. The two sat on the edge of the couch and played with a pocket watch, and the emperor taught her how to look at the time. He asked, "Did you count the pearls on your head just now?" Qingcheng shook his head and said, "It's too much, I can't count them." The emperor pretended to be mysterious and said, "There are 1,200 of them!" "He is the richest man in the world, he has never seen anything, and he is just coaxing her to play.

Qingcheng was really shocked, put it in the palm of his hand, and loved it more and more. After playing for a while, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Is it just me and the emperor?" The Emperor nodded and said, "That's nature." Qingcheng let out a shallow laugh, but said, "What should I do then?" ”

The emperor wondered, "What to do?" ”

Qingcheng replied: "The tribute from the foreign dynasty is naturally dedicated to the emperor, and when the queen knows, she will be angry with me." The emperor pinched her cheek and said with a smile: "I'm stupid again, the whole world is mine, just a pocket watch, I can give it to whoever I like, it's just a matter of course." After a pause, he said: "Whoever is angry with you is angry with me, see who dares!" "He is mighty and handsome, supreme, every word he says is a holy decree, and every thing he wants to do has countless people who have died for him, but in front of her, he always looks gentle and casual, teasing her, coaxing her, spoiling her, laughing at her, and pinching her face.

Thinking like this, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch his face, and said, "If you pinch me, I will pinch you too." The emperor was stunned, he had a "special" intimacy with many women, but it was the first time that a woman "fought back". Qingcheng saw that his face changed, his hands couldn't help stagnating, and even his body sat up straight, a little more respectful, and said, "Are you angry?" ”

The emperor remained silent and looked at her expressionlessly. Qingcheng panicked in her heart, and hurriedly withdrew her hand, and was about to ask for guilt, but the emperor suddenly gave birth to his arms, pinched his cheeks on both sides of her with both hands, and said with a loud laugh: "Dare to pinch me, it is really bold, and the sin is unforgivable!" He used three points of strength, Qingcheng was in pain, and rolled onto the couch playfully, and the emperor threw himself forward, and kissed according to his posture.

His lips were thin and warm, with the fragrance of osmanthus wine, and she muttered, "Have you had dinner and drink?" The emperor smiled evilly and said, "It's good to drink wine." Qingcheng slammed his shoulder, wanting to say something, but he took it in his mouth, whimpered and swallowed.

Er Qi knew this, and went to the small kitchen happily and instructed Huang Er to cook a big pot of lotus seed pork belly soup. Huang Er asked: "Aunt Erqi, why did you think of boiling this today?" Er Qi raised her eyebrows and smiled, and said in a low voice: "I secretly asked the medical lady of the Imperial Hospital, saying that this soup can nourish and replenish deficiency and help pregnancy." Huang Er suddenly realized, half admiring and half flattering: "It's still my aunt and grandmother who thinks thoughtfully and comprehensively, no wonder she is trusted by the pure master." Er Qi said proudly: "As subordinates, we naturally want to be in front of the master in everything." ”

Huang Er nodded and said, "Yes, yes, my aunt is right." ”

As soon as it was the end of April, the little eunuch who started to climb and roll into Yikun Palace, muttering in Hai'an's ear. Hai An's face became more and more solemn, and he nodded frequently and whispered. After the little eunuch finished speaking, he immediately ran away. Hai'an lifted the curtain and turned into the west bedroom, Qingcheng was grooming in the mirror, and asked casually, "What's wrong?" Look at your sad face. ”

Hai An said: "Long live Lord came to our palace, and I heard the little eunuch who beat the head say that there was something in the previous dynasty, and Long Live Lord was angry in the Heart Cultivation Palace, and he scolded the prince and Lord Zhang Tingyu bitterly. Qingcheng raised her hand, and the palace maid who was waiting for the makeup quietly retreated, she pondered for a moment, and there was a measure in her heart, and said: "Go and make two bowls of oil tea made yesterday." Hai An promised to go out, and Qingcheng was still sitting in front of the rhombic bronze mirror and slowly combing his hair full of black silk.

When there was movement outside, Qingcheng Fang got up and went to the flower hall to greet him. The emperor was really cloudy, and the eunuchs who accompanied him all lowered their eyebrows and lowered their eyes, and their faces were full of bitterness. Wu Shulai gestured to Qingcheng, Qingcheng remained silent, curtsied, took the civilian robe in the hands of the palace guard, and waited for the emperor to change clothes. She said: "Do you know what I like the emperor to say the most? ”

The emperor had not said a word since he entered the house, and his mouth was tightly closed and half silent. Hearing Qingcheng speak, he glanced at her, was stunned for a moment, and asked, "What are you talking about?" ”

Qingcheng smiled: "I like you to say the most, hey, Qingcheng, what are we going to have for dinner?" ”

The emperor still had a straight face and said, "That's all you need!" He sat on the kang, took the oil tea presented by Hai An, drank two sips indiscriminately, and opened his mouth to ask, "What are we going to eat for dinner?" After speaking, he was stunned, and he couldn't help but laugh, stroked his forehead and smiled: "You dug a pit to let me jump down!" Qingcheng sat beside him, touched the scumbag on his chin, and said with a smile: "You are willing to jump down, how can you blame me." ”

Wu Shulai smiled when he saw the emperor, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the big stone hanging on his head finally fell to the ground. The room was originally tense like a string hanging, and everyone was in danger, but at this time they were secretly glad that even the air had become sweet. The Emperor grabbed her hand and said, "Don't touch my beard, you are now more and more bold, and you dare to touch even the tiger's whiskers." ”

Qingcheng pouted, narrowed his eyes and said, "You are not a tiger, you can't bite me." The emperor's face showed a hint of weirdness, leaned against her ear, and said faintly: "I don't have the strength to go down to the court, and I will bite you again at night!" Hai An stood and waited under the kang, and he didn't hear anything, but when he saw that the green orange was even red at the root of his ears and neck, he vaguely guessed something, and couldn't help but smile with a snicker.

The emperor crooked his face and drank oil tea on the big pillow, and said: "The taste is good, but it is not refreshing enough." Qingcheng said: "The oil tea is filled with walnuts, black sesame seeds and beef bone marrow oil, and it is said that the first emperor loved to eat it." The emperor was physically and mentally exhausted, and finally got free time, but accompanied her to talk nonsense, he said lazily: "Why don't I know that Huang Ama loves to eat this?" ”

Qingcheng said with a smile: "I heard that when the first emperor went to the lower reaches of the Yellow River to inspect the river defense, and when he was stationed in the small town in the west, there was a county order called Wu Shilu, who asked the cook to offer a bowl of oil tea face, and the first emperor praised it and rewarded him as an official!" ”

The emperor sneered when he heard this, and said, "Where did this bullshit rumor come from, it's just nonsense. Reward the officials, the emperor Ama is solemn and tidy, and the powerful are suppressed, how can he reward people for a bowl of tea. ”

Qingcheng said: "I listened to Erqi, she was afraid that I didn't like to drink, so she changed her way to tell nonsense stories." The emperor said: "This tea has the effect of strengthening the brain and keeping out the cold, you are afraid of cold and heat, and there is no harm in eating some." He smiled again: "I see that the weather is good, and I want to go to the elder brother's house to see the third elder brother, do you want to go?" "Qingcheng's own children, how can there be anything they don't want to see, they just don't have a chance.

Ah Ge is neither in the East and West Sixth Palace, nor in the harem, but belongs to the outer court. The entrance control of the elder brother is very strict, except for the guards, the imperial doctor, and the teacher, others are not allowed to enter and leave at will.

The emperor knew her thoughts, and said: "You wait, I will always find an opportunity to give you the title of Jinfeng, and then let the third elder brother live in the Daode Hall opposite to serve, you only need to walk a few steps to see him, okay?" Qingcheng nodded, and couldn't wait to ask, "Shall we go to Brother's Office now, or will we go back after dinner?" ”

Er Qi happened to enter the house to ask for dinner, bent his knees, and said respectfully: "Emperor Qiqi, pure master, there is a word from the kitchen, saying that the meal has been prepared, please ask when the master will eat." The emperor got up and said, "Don't set the table yet." He took Qingcheng's hand and said, "Let's go, let's go see our son." Qingcheng followed the emperor out, and when he arrived at the door, he remembered that he didn't have a bun of hair, and he hadn't even finished painting his eyebrows, so he said, "Wait a minute." ”

She hurriedly entered the dormitory and said, "Hai'an, come and comb my hair." Hai'an Lisuo went in to serve, the emperor patiently stood by the side and waited, seeing her drawing her eyebrows in the mirror, he had a thought, snatched the eyebrow pencil in her hand, and said, "I will help you draw." He has never helped a woman draw her eyebrows, and he has painted a lot of landscapes, orchids and bamboos. She raised her face and squinted, seeing that he was slow to put down the pen, she couldn't help urging: "Hurry up, otherwise the attendant of the Hongde Hall will come to urge him, and he won't be able to go to the elder brother's office." ”

The emperor said: "Don't be afraid, women are pleasing to themselves, I can't draw your eyebrows badly." The two of them chirped and cooed, and the palace people looked at the emperor's posture, which was even more serious than the previous court, and couldn't help but look at each other and laugh secretly. Finally, the two of them left Yikun Palace, and Qingcheng was very dissatisfied with his eyebrows, but he didn't dare to dislike it in front of the emperor. The emperor was complacent, as if he had done something earth-shattering!

A group of honor guards drove the elder brother in a mighty way, crossed the glazed door of the ninth street wall, and arrived at the main gate, and the two got off the sedan chair and entered hand in hand. Qingcheng hadn't seen the third elder brother for more than half a year, and he almost couldn't even remember his face. The indescribable mother's love in her heart came in waves, filling her entire chest, making her steps faster and faster, more and more urgent, and she wanted to fly over immediately.

The grandmothers stood behind the Jinshui Bridge with the third elder brother in their arms to greet each other, and when they saw Qingcheng, they were all surprised, and they didn't dare to show it on their faces, but they just bowed to each other from afar. The grandmother holding the third elder brother stepped forward and said, "The third elder brother asks for peace for the emperor and for the pure master." Qingcheng has stretched out her arm, and Mama smiled and handed the third elder brother to Qingcheng to hug, and said with a smile: "The pure master came unfortunately, the third elder brother took a nap, and the slave didn't dare to wake him up, he didn't sleep well at noon, and he had to make trouble all night at night." ”

Qingcheng said: "You don't need to call him, I'll just look at him." She hadn't hugged the third elder brother a few times, but like her nature, she immediately knew how to hold it to make the little baby in her arms comfortable. His face was white and tender, like a freshly peeled egg, and he slept deeply, and his mouth whirred. She smiled at the emperor and said, "Look at it, he's blowing bubbles, it's so funny." ”

The emperor was happy to see her, and he had already thrown the unhappiness in the court to Java, he leaned down to look at the third elder brother, couldn't help pinching his little face, and said, "The little guy looks like you." Qingcheng was anxious and whispered: "Don't pinch him, wake him up carefully." She hummed softly in her mouth, shook her arms gently, and her face was full of loving light. The emperor looked at her stupidly, and an inexplicable sense of satisfaction rose in his heart, as if it was enough to have their mother and son in the world, what kind of trade with foreign dynasties, what Prince Zhuang formed a party and private, it was so far away that it was like what happened in the previous life.

A timid voice suddenly came from behind him, saying: "Huang Ama is auspicious, and the mother concubine is auspicious." ”

The emperor came back to his senses, turned to look, and saw a little boy in a bright yellow robe kneeling on the ground, so he said, "Get up." Then he asked, "Have you finished your homework for today?" The eldest brother said: "I just got out of school, and I haven't had time to write yet." The emperor snorted and casually admonished: "Do your homework carefully, and if you don't understand something, you must ask the teacher carefully." The eldest brother said respectfully: "The sons and daughters respectfully follow the teachings of the emperor Amma. His head hung low, and he dared to look only at his feet.

Qingcheng knew that he was the child of Concubine Zhe, Concubine Zhe died early, and the eldest brother had nothing to rely on, so he didn't know how much he had suffered. is five or six years old, and her body is also extremely weak, thin and small, like a girl. Qingcheng looked pitiful, and said: "Big brother, Ming'er, you go to the study to finish the class, if you have time, come to Yikun Palace for dinner." She deliberately said in front of the emperor, and no one else had to gossip. The eldest brother was very surprised, he raised his head and glanced at Qingcheng, and was about to thank him, but he heard the emperor say: "There are more than a dozen kinds of pastries prepared in the study, and you can't worry about it." "Forced back the words of the eldest brother Shane.

It didn't take long, and sure enough, the attendant of the Hongde Hall stepped forward to ask for a ride, and the emperor had not yet eaten, and his stomach was empty, so he hurriedly took a sedan chair back to Yikun Palace for dinner. Hai'an originally wanted to find an opportunity to say a few words to the eldest brother, but there was no gap in the end, and when the holy car was far away, he turned forward and knelt down and kowtowed, and said: "Big brother, if you have anything difficult to do in the future, go to Yikun Palace to find a slave." ”

The eldest brother is precocious and very vigilant, and asks, "Who are you?" But is Ann kind? ”

Hearing him be so guarded, Hai'an didn't have the innocence of a six-year-old child, he couldn't help but burst into tears, and said distressedly: "The slave's name is Hai'an, and when she was in the palace before, she was the personal servant of Concubine Zhe's mother. After you are born, the first sip of water you drink is served by slaves and maids. ”

The eldest brother was still skeptical, and said: "I'm fine, if there is anything, I will ask Huang Ama to call the shots, and I don't need to ask anyone for help." Haian wanted to say something more, but someone was calling in front of him, saying, "Who is there, you are going to lock the door, hurry up!" ”

Hai'an hurriedly got up, took the jade earrings on his ears, handed them to the grandmother behind the eldest brother, and said, "This is a pure master's reward, and it is worth a lot of money." In the future, you will take care of the eldest brother, and if there is anything wrong, I will ask someone to go to Yikun Palace to find me. ”

Mama didn't expect to be able to eat the benefits of the eldest brother in this life, she was overjoyed, her face was full of smiles, her drooping eyelids were about to be squeezed into one place, and she smiled and said, "It should be, it should be, yes, yes." ”