After the sealing ceremony, the court stopped, and the ministers of the six ministries and nine secretaries were idle at home. The emperor became more and more busy, first with the queen in Kunning Palace to worship the god of the stove, and then with the lama to preside over the palace "Delu", "fight ghosts" and other ancestral rituals, and then drive to the temple to worship the ancestors, to return to the palace, often it is night. So complicated and tired, the emperor did not summon the concubines to sleep for several days, and stayed alone in the Palace of Nourishing Hearts.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, the emperor got up at the right time, went to the palaces to throw incense and salute, and invited the gods and Buddhas into the palace for the New Year. Busy until noon, in the Baohe Palace to give a banquet to the Mongolian princes of the outer domain, after the banquet, Fang drove the Qianqing Palace to be congratulated by the concubine.

Qingcheng wore a grade court dress early and waited, and when the emperor entered the throne, he followed the queen to perform six su, three kneels and three bows. At the beginning of the day, the queen mother arrived, and the queen led all the concubines to toast and celebrate the new year to the queen mother. After such a toss, Qingcheng was so tired that he couldn't even breathe.

After the banquet, Qingcheng sat on his shoulders and returned to Yikun Palace, changed out of the heavy court clothes and beads, took off his makeup and washed his face, and was about to go to bed, but he heard Er Qi say: "Master, do we want to send sobering soup to the Heart Cultivation Palace?" The slave maid listened to the people in the other palaces say that Shun Concubine Niangniang, Qing Concubine Niangniang, Jin Guiren, and Wang Guiren are all going..." ”

Er Qi defended: "Whether you drink it or not, when the emperor sees the master's soup, he can't miss you a little more." She stood quietly, waiting for Qingcheng to reply, and only after half a sound did she hear a soft sigh from the curtain and said, "No need." ”

Er Qi still wanted to open his mouth to persuade a few words, but he was squinted by Hai'an, and he couldn't say anything more, so he bowed down and retreated.

The emperor rested for a while in the Yangxin Palace, and the teahouse took a few bowls of decanting soup and stepped forward to serve them one by one. Wu Shulai knelt on the ground and waited for the emperor to bathe his feet, and when he saw the emperor lying on his back on the dragon chair, he was silent, and hurriedly secretly gave the maid of the Fengcha Palace a look.

Jing Tao understood and led everyone out quietly. For a while, someone from Changchun Palace came to ask questions outside, and they didn't dare to be blatant, so they only secretly pulled Jing Tao to the side and asked, "When will the emperor start driving?" The queen mother prepared the wine and food for the New Year, but it was going to be cold. ”

After all, it was a person in the queen's palace, Jing Tao didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly said: "Wu Shulai must have to spend some effort to serve his feet in front of the palace—you also know that the emperor has to spend half an hour bathing his feet after every ceremony." ”

Dong Ling bowed his head, stuffed two gold bills into Jing Tao's hand, and said, "I understand, I'll go and talk back, and the affairs of the royal front are still up to you to take care of." ”

Jing Tao knew that it was the queen's meaning, so she didn't dare to push back, Ma Li stuffed the gold coin into her sleeve, nodded and said: "Today, the emperor is tired of a day, and he has to keep the New Year, but I am afraid that there will be something called in front of me, so I will go first." ”

Dong Ling answered, and the two of them dispersed from the night.

After the New Year, the emperor newly named the Nanfu female music who danced at the palace banquet as an official woman, and she was favored for only a few days, and then she left it behind. At the beginning of the day, the sun was warm, and the concubines had nothing to do, so they made an appointment with Qing Concubine and Lu Concubine to take a walk in the imperial garden, and happened to bump into Jin Guiren and Wang Guiren, and several people chirped and talked about fun in the pavilion. I don't know who started it, Jin Guiren continued: "I thought that the future of Yikun Palace was limitless, but now it seems that it is not enough. ”

Wang Guidao: "I heard that the emperor has not been to Yikun Palace for a long time. After a pause and a little thought, Fang said: "On Chinese New Year's Eve, I toasted the emperor with Su Guiren, but the emperor didn't look at her directly, as if he was angry, I was a little puzzled. ”