During the Chinese New Year, the palace people received new skirts, wore red and green, and were festive and lively everywhere. Due to the illness of Emperor Gao's concubine, the emperor exempted the banquets in each palace, and only ordered family banquets to be held in Shoukang Palace and Qianqing Palace.

The so-called "family banquet" refers to the congratulations and contributions to the royal family from the ministers of the Yellow Banner and the Manchu Six Banners led by the Aixin Jueluo clan, as well as the princes and nobles who have an in-law relationship with the Aixin Jueluo family.

And the Han people are not qualified to pay tribute if they want to.

Qingcheng took charge of the Sixth Palace for the first time, and the punishment for doing something wrong was relatively small, which made the emperor lose face, but it was not good. She was worried and said, "Your Majesty, it's better to let Concubine Xian help me." The emperor laughed, I don't know if she was really sure that she would not fall out of favor, or if she didn't take Concubine Xian in her eyes. He said: "Concubine Xian is not like you, she can be subservient to her. Qingcheng roughly understood what the emperor meant, and said, "I just don't listen to her in everything." ”

At this time, the two were having dinner, Yongzhang sat on the emperor's right hand, and Qingcheng and Yongying sat on the emperor's left hand. The emperor took a piece of shiitake mushroom and put it in the green orange bowl, and said, "Since I let you manage the harem, it's not okay to be lazy." Qingcheng said: "The day after tomorrow, at the family banquet in the Qianqing Palace, the prince of Mongolia came from afar, I am afraid that I will not do well and make you lose face." ”

The emperor raised his eyebrows and said jokingly: "If you are just worried that things will not be done well, it is better to worry about worrying that the Mongolian prince will bring a few daughters over." As soon as he finished speaking, Qingcheng put his chopsticks aside. These days, she has been busy with the family banquets of the Qianqing Palace non-stop, from rewards and gifts to singing, dancing, dining and wine, and carefully reading the records from several years ago. After thinking about it, he actually missed the fact that the princes would bring their daughters into the palace.

The lord of Mongolia has a noble status, and often does not participate in the draft, and is directly led into the palace by the prince to show the queen mother. The Queen Mother saw that it was good, so she stayed in the palace in the name of accompanying the Queen Mother, and then the Queen Mother rewarded the emperor.

Seeing that Qingcheng's face changed, the emperor was silent, bowing his head and picking up rice.

The atmosphere in the room cooled down suddenly, and the palace people who served the food looked at the situation, and they all hung their heads with their chests in their hearts, and they didn't dare to come out. Yongzhang ate two bites of chicken and suddenly screamed "ah". The eunuch behind him thought that it was a stone that had bitten into the food, and was so frightened that he was half dead, and hurriedly took the spittoon and knelt high in front of Yongzhang.

Yongzhang grinned and said, "Eniang, my teeth fell into the rice." ”

Qingcheng came back to his senses, looked into his bowl, and sure enough, there was a small pointed baby tooth, and couldn't help laughing: "Oops, Yongzhang has grown up and is going to change his teeth." Then he asked, "Does it hurt?" Yongzhang glanced at the emperor, didn't dare to say that it hurt, shook his head and said, "It doesn't hurt at all." Qingcheng asked him to open his mouth, looked at the place where he lost his tooth for a long time, and said, "Let's throw this tooth on the roof of the house later." Yongzhang was curious and asked, "Why?" Qingcheng said: "When Eniang lost her teeth when she was a child, she would throw them on the roof, so that the teeth would grow neatly and beautifully." Yongzhang nodded as if he didn't understand, the child thought everything was funny, and said with a smile: "Then let's throw it now!" So saying, he got up and left.

The emperor said: "What's the hurry, let's talk about it after eating." ”

His words were holy decrees, and Yongzhang was not happy in his heart, but he still obediently replied "yes". After withdrawing from the meal, Qingcheng found a small purse to pack Yongzhang's baby teeth, and took Yongzhang to throw the baby teeth into the yard. Yongying saw Yongzhang excited, dancing inexplicably, tiptoeing behind with short legs. When he arrived at the door, Qingcheng turned his head and asked: "I'm afraid that Yongzhang won't be able to throw it up, you have a lot of strength..." ”

Qingcheng glanced at him and said, "What's so funny, the people's homes are all thrown by Amma." ”

The emperor waved his hand and said, "No, no, no." "When it came to the matter of the Mongolian county lord just now, he thought that she was going to be angry, and he had already thought of various words, but he was interrupted by Yongzhang's loss of baby teeth, which caused him to swallow in his stomach and couldn't spit it out. Bi Qingcheng still had a casual face, talking and laughing and accompanied Yongzhang away, leaving him alone in the house, as if there were many women in the palace, she didn't have to care, she had already eaten him, think about it, it's really hateful.

The eaves in the palace are extremely high, and there are birds and animals carved on the eaves, so it is not easy to throw something to the roof. For Yongzhang, this is the most important matter, and he will never let the lowly eunuchs do it. Every other day, he practiced kubu and mounted archery, and felt that his arm strength was too strong, and he would not take a ladder to the roof anyway.

He threw it for the first time and fell into the snow.

The second time, I almost hit myself.

The third time, the eunuch who was swept away took it up.

Fourthly... For the fifth time...

I don't know how many times I tried, but he finally threw it on the pine tree next to him, and the ribbon of the purse stumbled over the branches, and it was thrown around in the wind, but it didn't fall. Yongying looked up at the zenith, babbling and screaming. Yongzhang thought that his baby teeth could not be removed, and suddenly he cried loudly, and his eyes were tearful: "Eniang, my teeth can't grow..."

Qingcheng touched his face and said, "Don't cry in the wind, be careful if you blow your face, E-Niang asked someone to take a ladder." ”

Hai'an hurriedly ordered someone to borrow a ladder from the Internal Affairs Office, and the eunuch climbed the branch, took it in a few clicks, and took the opportunity to flatter: "Third elder brother, it's better to let the slave help you throw it." Yongzhang vowed not to give up until he reached his goal, and reprimanded: "Get out of the way." After that, I picked up the purse and threw it many times. He was running around the yard, so tired that he couldn't help but sob.

Qingcheng squatted down to help him wipe his tears, and said, "Actually, you don't have to throw it on the roof, it's the same if you put it next to your pillow and sleep on it." Good boy, don't cry, go and sleep, I have to go to the south study in the afternoon. "There was an urgent matter in the previous dynasty, and the little eunuch said to Wu Shulai's ear, and Wu Shulai hurriedly entered the house to show the emperor.

The emperor dressed and went out, and when he saw Yongzhang crying, he asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Qingcheng secretly glared at him, and said with his eyes: Knowingly ask!

When the emperor came, Yongzhang didn't dare to cry anymore, and wiped his tears to send him off. The emperor suddenly stretched out his hand and said, "Where are the things?" Yongzhang was still in tears, looking at the emperor roundly, not understanding what he meant. The Emperor had to repeat, "Your teeth! Yongzhang handed the purse tightly in the palm of his hand to the emperor, who turned around, took two steps back, held his head high, and threw it in his hand as if it were just a light throw, and the purse flew straight to the center of the roof like an arrow.

Yongzhang was dumbfounded, in his opinion, the emperor was simply omnipotent.

The emperor said that he would not throw it away, but now he threw it again, he couldn't let go of his body, and deliberately said with a calm face: "With such a trivial matter, I will cry and cry." If you practice archery a lot in the future, your arm strength will naturally increase. After that, he didn't look at the orange, so he said, "I'm gone." Qingcheng wanted to get up and send him off, but the emperor had already led Wu Shu and strode away.

At the time of the New Year's Day, the punishment of Concubine Xian's confinement for half a year has long passed, but Jingren Palace is still dead. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, only Concubine Shun went to Jingren Palace early in the morning to ask for peace. The two saluted each other and sat cross-legged on the kang to eat the fruit.

Concubine Xian said: "There is no big banquet this year, and it is really much colder." ”

Concubine Shun said: "It's just cold here for you, and the place that should be lively can be lively." After fixing his expression, his thumb rubbed a white glazed scarlet lotus-patterned teacup from the official kiln, and said quietly: "As soon as the concubine of the emperor died, there was no evidence of the old things. ”

Concubine Xian said: "It doesn't matter, who did it, you and I know very well, this old account will have to be turned over one day." Besides, if the queen has a dragon heir, it is just a princess, if it is a prince, the fifth elder brother has no name and no points, and it is really embarrassing to live in Changchun Palace, and the concubine is for the fifth elder brother, not the queen. Once the queen discards the fifth elder brother, Concubine Yu will no longer serve the queen, and when the time comes, we will always have the opportunity to win over. He smiled deeply and said, "I'm not in a hurry." ”

Concubine Shun thought about it the same, breathed a sigh of relief, tasted the high-quality Longjing tea, and said: "Since you were grounded, I have been coldly watching the emperor treat the pure concubine, and I always feel a little worried. Concubine Xian was stunned and said, "What is she worried about?" The position I want, she will never be able to touch. No matter how favored you are, it is useless to give birth to more princes. Concubine Shun said: "It is precisely because of this that I am worried." ”

Concubine Xian didn't understand, and looked at her blankly.

Concubine Shun continued: "The queen, like us, thought that Concubine Chun was a Han girl and couldn't do great things, so she didn't regard her as an opponent. Even the Queen Mother thinks the same way, so she will let the emperor favor her. She paused, took a sip of tea, and said, "What I'm worried about now is also her identity." In the final analysis, there are countless ways for the emperor to really promote whom. Not to mention that Concubine Chun is a Han woman, what can she do when the time comes, give her a Manchu surname?"

Concubine Xian sneered and said, "Give a surname? Easier said than done. ”

Concubine Shun picked up an apricot kumquat and handed it to Concubine Xian, and said, "It is naturally difficult for her to give a surname alone, but don't forget, she has two sons and a motherless elder brother." It doesn't matter if she is a Han girl, her sons are all surnamed Aixin Jueluo! ”

Concubine Xian pinched the kumquat on her fingertips and said, "The emperor wants to make his son-in-law the prince, how can he..."

Concubine Shun said: "It is precisely because the emperor wants to establish a concubine, so I think that with the current momentum of Concubine Chun, the only one who can deal with her is the queen's belly." Besides, the queen's child must not be born, otherwise, your situation will be worse and worse. ”

The two of them retreated from the palace outside the main hall, and planned in a low whisper for most of the day, and then dispersed.

At night, the lights of the Qianqing Palace are as bright as day, the fireworks are crackling, and the silk and bamboo music is wrapped in the sound of laughter and joy, just like a peaceful and prosperous world, singing and dancing and leveling the scene. Today, Qingcheng finally knows the benefits of controlling the six palaces and holding power. She quietly arranged the seats of those county lords, family girls, and life wives at the back of the stage, and put a few screens in the middle. The emperor has to be congratulated by the princes and ministers of the previous dynasty, and he has to toast with the concubine and greet the queen mother.

Qingcheng's seat is listed at the lower right of the emperor, only half a rank lower than the empress, as if he is the head of the four concubines. The emperor knew that she was busy all day, and he was afraid that he would not even use breakfast, so when he gave wine, he ordered Wu Shulai to secretly replace the wine with sour plum soup boiled with black plum and osmanthus. The palace uses delicate carved small porcelain cups, and the green oranges are drunk to the end, only to know that it is not wine.

She was stunned, then understood, and looked at the emperor with a smile. The emperor was still angry about throwing baby teeth at Yongzhang the day before yesterday, deliberately not looking at her, and leaned sideways to talk to the queen. The Jingqi grandmothers led all the elder brothers and princesses to toast, and the emperor rewarded them one by one with paper, ink, pen, inkstone, white jade Ruyi, ring swords, swords and other things.

The Queen Mother favored Yongzhang and asked him to move his seat to his side to Chenghuan, but Yongzhang was cautious in front of the emperor and did not dare to laugh recklessly. can be compared with the Queen Mother, but it is completely different, coquettish and tricky, coaxing the Queen Mother to obey. The fourth elder brother looked unhappy in his heart, and asked the eldest brother, "Why doesn't the queen mother like us?" ”

The fourth elder brother has a mother, but the eldest brother doesn't even have a mother, and he doesn't know what it's like to be pampered. He watched with envy as Yongzhang rolled in the arms of the Queen Mother and leaned forward and backwards with a smile, and couldn't help but feel sad. In the past, after the New Year, he followed his grandmothers back to his brother's office, and this year is not bad, at least he can follow Concubine Chun back to Yikun Palace. Seeing that the eldest brother didn't speak, the fourth elder brother seemed to think of something, and said: "The third elder brother is generous and kind, not to mention the queen mother, even I like to play with him." He took a small jade tiger from the purse around his waist and said, "This is the dowry that my mother brought from the Li Dynasty, which can ward off evil spirits and give it to you as a gift." ”

The jade tiger is only the size of a thumb, and the craftsmanship is rough, far inferior to the imperial play. The eldest brother pinched his palms, looked at it for a long time, felt that his eyes were warm, patted the fourth elder brother's shoulder, and thanked him heavily.

The queen was tired, so she got up to say goodbye, and the emperor saw that Qingcheng was also tired, so he said: "Qingcheng, the queen is not in good health, you can send her for me." In front of the concubines and princesses of the court, he called Qingcheng by his name, and his holy grace is self-evident. Qingcheng blushed with shame, frowned at the emperor, supported the queen, and retired according to the courtesy.

When I arrived at Qianqingmen Palace Street, the surroundings became more and more quiet, and the sound of drums blew into the cold wind and spread into the night, which made people cold and infiltrate for no reason. A eunuch trembled and knelt in the snow, and said: "The master of the queen of Qiyu, the pure master, the eunuch on duty who carried the sedan chair accidentally fell and injured his bones, so he had to be temporarily replaced, please wait for the two masters." ”

Qingcheng has always been generous to his subordinates, but taking care of the queen's face, he forced him to say sternly: "Who is in charge of the sedan chair?" How can you act so foolishly, you should have expected the unexpected earlier..."Before she finished speaking, the queen shook her hand and said gently: "It's okay, it's inevitable to slack off during the New Year." Then he said to the kneeling eunuch, "Get up." ”

The eunuch was grateful to Dade and kowtowed five or six times before getting up.

The wind was strong, and Qingcheng was afraid that the queen would be cold, so he took his satin red cloak and wrapped it for the queen, and said: "You are pregnant with an heir, but you have to be careful, you have a cold, and even the imperial doctor doesn't know how to give medicine." ”

The queen smiled: "You are still careful." ”

The honor guard palace people who served with the good and gentle orders stood in front of the queen with lanterns to block the wind, and Qingcheng urged people to go to the sedan chair to pass the word, only to say half a sentence, and suddenly heard several screams, the palace maids and eunuchs either panicked to the sides to retreat, or covered their faces and fell to the ground, the queen also took two steps back, if it wasn't for Qingcheng's support, I am afraid that I would fall on my back.

Qingcheng looked at the queen's frightened eyes, and saw a moon-white figure who didn't know whether it was a person or a ghost, with hair spread all over his face, so that people couldn't see his eyebrows clearly. Her clothes were fluttering, and when she got closer, she could smell the smell of all over her body.

The queen grabbed Qingcheng's arm tightly and muttered, "Jin Ling, Jin Ling..."

There was a mess around, and no one heard what the queen said. Qingcheng has never done anything wrong, and believes that there are gods in heaven and earth, and how can demons and monsters be rampant. She suppressed her fear, stood up and shouted, "Who pretended to be a god, so that he was not afraid of offending the gods and dying in the eighteen layers of hell?" The figure seemed to be really stunned and stopped.

Qingcheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, becoming more and more sure that someone was making waves. She was about to turn around and comfort the frightened queen, when the figure suddenly ran over, and when she reached the bright spot, her hair was blowing, and she could see a snow-white face, bloody eyes, and bared teeth as if to devour people. The queen screamed in fear, completely out of proportion. The light of the knife flashed, and the figure had a short knife in his hand at some point, and stabbed straight towards the queen.

The queen rolled her eyelids and fainted while leaning against the wall.

At the moment of a thousand moments, Qingcheng was almost instinctive, and reached out to the knife light. The clothes were torn open, and blood fell to the ground. The green orange arm was like being roasted by a hot charcoal fire, and it was hot and painful. She couldn't see the blood, only felt dizzy, and her heels were unstable. There was a faint sound of boots stepping behind her, and she barely stood still against the wall, shouting, "Hai'an." ”

Yuebai's figure also seemed to be stunned, and stood for a while before retreating and running, turning into the corner gate, and there was no trace.

Hai'an was full of tears, got up from the ground, grabbed Qingcheng's fingers all over his body, and said, "Master, are you okay?" Qingcheng said, "Quickly help the queen up." Her vision became more and more blurred, and there were countless lights coming from afar, and many people gathered around her, asking anxiously: "Pure master, how are you?" Pure master..."

The little eunuch walked to the Qianqing Palace and muttered in Wu Shulai's ear. The emperor happened to see it and asked, "What is the matter?" Wu Shulai's face changed slightly, he took two steps forward, leaned over and whispered, and bowed to the emperor. He carefully coveted the emperor's expression, and the faint smile on the corner of the emperor's lips faded into a expressionless face without joy or anger.

Wu Shulai chuckled in his heart, and cold sweat broke out all over his body.

The emperor got up, didn't say a word, and walked away. The Mongolian prince had discussed with the queen mother earlier, and when the song and dance performance in Nanfu was over, he would let the four county lords who had entered the palace to ask for peace to toast the emperor. didn't want the emperor to leave for no reason like this, everyone looked at each other, figuring out the emperor's thoughts.

The Queen Mother was wise and shrewd, called the county lords to come forward, rewarded them one by one, and said with a smile: "The emperor is a holy monarch, and there is an urgent matter in the previous dynasty, so he will go back to the Heart Cultivation Hall first." A few of you, the mourning family likes it very much, and you will stay in Shoukang Palace tonight, and have a good talk with the mourning family. ”

In this case, no one dared to disagree, and they all said: "Thank you Lafayette for your grace." ”

When the emperor drove the Changchun Palace, hundreds of lamps were lit in the bedroom, illuminating as bright as day. The queen changed her bedclothes, took off the hairpin, and shrunk in the corner with the brocade quilt shivering. When I saw the emperor, I cried so much that my liver and intestines were broken. The emperor gently took her in his arms, helped her on her back, and said softly: "It's okay, I'm here, don't be afraid." "The queen cried and cried, I don't know how long she cried, and when she was tired of crying, she fell asleep.

The imperial doctors have been kneeling in the outer hall to guard, and when the emperor comes out, they all shout: "The emperor is blessed with gold." The emperor said, "Can the dragon heir be damaged?" The royal physician led by the king stepped forward and replied: "Long live the Lord, the queen's fetus is stable, and there is no major problem. It's just that the demons in my heart are still heavy, and I need to recuperate. The emperor nodded and said, "In the past two days, you will personally lead people to guard the Changchun Palace." ”

The royal physician bowed his head and said, "The slave obeys the order." ”

After a while, when he looked up, the holy car had already left in a sedan chair.

When the emperor arrived at Yikun Palace, it was nearly midnight. Qingcheng's arm had been bandaged and medicated, but it still hurt badly, and he couldn't sleep, so he sat on a high pillow and pretended to sleep. The emperor approached quietly, watching her close her eyes and recuperate, her brows furrowed slightly, worried and sad, more painful than a stab on her body. She raised a smile and said, "You're here." After finishing speaking, he slowly opened his eyes. The emperor sat down beside her and said, "You don't even look at it, how do you know it's me?" ”

Qingcheng pretended to be relaxed and said: "What's so difficult about that, just listen to the footsteps." Then he asked, "How is the queen?" The Emperor stared at her hand and said, "Let me see." Qingcheng said: "It's nothing to look at, it's just a shallow cut, and it doesn't hurt your muscles and bones." Imperial Doctor Jian has already applied medicine to me, and it will be fine in two days. ”

The emperor still pulled up her sleeve, although the wound could not be seen, but the white gauze was tightly wrapped above the wrist, and the smell of medicine mixed with the smell of blood was distressing.

He asked in a rough voice, "Does it hurt?" ”

Qingcheng smiled: "If you want to say that it doesn't hurt, you definitely don't believe it, but it doesn't hurt as much as you imagined, I fainted, just because I was uncomfortable seeing blood, not because it hurt..."

It seems to be getting darker and darker, and in the end, even she thinks it's too fake.

The emperor was finally amused by her, kissed her forehead, wanted to pinch her face, and was afraid that she would hurt, so he only held it and rubbed it, and said: "The palace people said that you blocked a knife for the queen, you are so stupid, why should you go to the soup for others." ”

Qingcheng said: "I'm not for others, it's for you." After a pause, he stared at the emperor and said, "You have always wanted a son-in-law, if the queen has any three long and two short, it will be difficult to get pregnant again in the future." ”

The emperor was moved and asked, "Aren't you afraid of ghosts?" ”

Qingcheng shook his head and said, "I was scared at first, but then I thought, there are gods three feet above my head, how can I let the ghosts make trouble?" Someone must be trying to murder the queen and pretend to be a ghost. ”

These words came to mind with the emperor, and the emperor said: "You are now in charge of the six palaces, if you are asked to check, how do you start?" Qingcheng knew that the emperor would have to do it himself, and he asked her, but he wanted to hear what she meant.

Qingcheng pondered for a moment and said: "I originally wanted to close all the palace doors immediately, not allow anyone to move, and then let the pro-army guards in front of the palace check the palace people in each palace one by one. Arrest all the palace people who are not in office or can't say what they are doing, and then slowly interrogate them. But—" the Emperor asked, "But what is it?" Qingcheng continued: "There is a banquet in the palace today, the princes and wives are here, as well as the Mongolian princes and county lords, and the palace is talking about gods and ghosts with great fanfare, and it has reached the ears of the people, and I don't know what the slander will become." ”

The emperor bowed his head and said approvingly: "It's a bit of a master." He said: "Okay, you don't need to worry about this matter, I will deal with it, you just need to take care of your injuries, and you should take a long vacation." ”