As soon as Wu Shulai left, the queen was restless, and irritably grabbed a handful of bird food and stood under the porch to feed the parrots. At dinner time, there was a torrential rain, crackling, like a broken bamboo, a layer of white mist between heaven and earth, and broken flowers in the courtyard flowed wantonly. From a distance, he saw a woman in an ochre orchid fine leaf pattern palace robe walking at the end of the palace corridor, so he smiled and said, "It's raining, it's slippery, why are you here?" ”

Concubine Shun got closer, Fang took Queen Ji's hands and looked up and down, and said, "Let me see, my belly seems to be bigger again." The queen was a little happy and said, "You always kick me at night, and you can't sleep well." Concubine Shun said: "The little guy has strength, and he will definitely be smart and clever in the future, and he is an iron-clad Manchu man!" After listening to Concubine Shun's words, Queen Ji felt very satisfied, helped her to walk into the house, and said, "I just want to talk to someone, you are good to come." Concubine Shun saw that her face was gloomy, and knew that something was wrong, so she followed her into the pavilion and sat on the kang face to face.

Luo Qing served refreshments, Concubine Xian glanced at her, and she led the palace people to retreat outside the corridor. There were only two people left in the room, and Concubine Shun took a sip of tea and said, "What's wrong?" I don't think you look good on your face. After a pause, he gently put down the small teacup with the glaze color lady pattern, and comforted: "You are two people now, you can't think too much, you can disdain everything next to you, and everything is important to the little prince." Concubine Xian can only reveal her heart in front of Concubine Shun, so she paid tribute to the Internal Affairs Office, and she invited Concubine Chun to enter Jingren Palace to choose silk, but she was reprimanded by the emperor and said again, and finally said: "According to his will, I made a mess in the six palaces." ”

Concubine Shun said: "Concubine Chun has been favored for several years, and there are two elder brothers under her knees, and last year, the emperor specially pointed out the marriage to Imperial Doctor Jian and married the Fucha family. Can't you see through all this? I advise you—" She looked out of the openwork window, and saw that the palace people were standing far away under the pillars, and Fang whispered, "Now is not the time to be her enemy." "Concubine Xian is pregnant, so she no longer applies powder on her face, and her nails are not coated with Kodan, her face is facing the sky, and her eyebrows and eyes are becoming more and more haggard and tired.

She said, "What enemy is invincible? When it is not canonized, forget it, sit on an equal footing, and no one will hinder anyone. But now that I have been canonized as the middle palace, if I am compared to her, how should everyone in the harem think of me? I just asked her to come to Jingren Palace to pick satin, and the emperor was angry, I still have a dragon in my belly, why can't I miss me? ”

Concubine Shun thought about it for a while, and was afraid that she would not be able to persuade her, but let the step-queen not wait to see her, so she said: "The emperor's temperament, you still can't understand it after more than ten years?" When he was pampered, he promised to be too big to be a little bigger, not to mention, that person was still a pure imperial concubine. In fact, you can't be angry about sesame trivial things, the harem respects you, and on the fifteenth day of the first month, she doesn't have to give you a salute and say goodbye. After a pause, he smiled again: "When you give birth to the prince and set up a prince, even the emperor will not be able to help you." ”

Just as he was speaking, someone knocked on the door outside the curtain, and Concubine Shun hurriedly booed and shouted, "Who? ”

Luo Qing's voice came, and he said respectfully: "Master Qiqi, Wei promised to ask to see." Empress Ji had already put Wei Wan'er aside, glanced at Concubine Shun, and snorted coldly: "I used to let her do things because I looked up to her, and she really took herself seriously." ”

Concubine Shun replied: "Wei Wan'er was originally a personal servant by the queen's side, and she was promoted by the queen before she could be allowed to be served. The queen treats her not lightly, but she puts ecstasy in the queen's soup and rice in order to flatter you. ”

The queen said: "It's okay, a little one promises, and I can't turn it over the palm of my hand." After speaking, he looked outside and said, "Let Wei agree to come in." It was not easy for Wei Wan'er to come here, so she carefully put on her new clothes, drew her eyebrows and sipped the ointment, and then led the girl to come to ask for peace. She entered the door to invite Da'an to the step-queen and Concubine Shun, and took out a pair of silver bracelets from the cuffs with low eyebrows, which were engraved with the words Fushou Shuangquan. She said: "The slave doesn't know what to send to congratulate the queen, be careful, thanks to a good intention, and please don't dislike it." ”

Luo Qing took the silver bracelet and handed it to Queen Ji, who looked at it and said with a smile: "It's hard for you to have a mind." He asked Luo Qing to move a stool and chair to invite Wei Wan'er to sit down, and said, "The Internal Affairs Office has just paid tribute to the new materials, and you can also pick two horses." Wan'er didn't have time to thank her, so she heard Luo Qing say: "Master, the new material is an example of the masters above the nobles of each palace, and there is no superfluity." ”

The queen glared at her eyes and said, "You are the palace maid in charge, since I opened my mouth, I naturally pulled it out of my sub-example, and I was anxious to shout in front of people, and I was afraid that people would not know that you were embarrassed?" Luo Qing hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed, and said, "The slave and maid lost their words, please punish the master." Wei Wan'er got up and said: "Niangniang is pregnant, the old robe must not be worn, plus it is necessary to prepare shoes and socks purses for the little master with a belly, etc., there are many places to use materials, and the slave maid is not short of robes to wear, so it is better to keep it, and it will save Luo Qing from embarrassment." The queen shook her head, leaned over slightly and patted the back of Wei Wan'er's hand, and said, "You are well-behaved, so I can rest assured." ”

Wei Wan'er became more and more deferential and humble, and said, "The master praised it falsely. She seemed to have beads in her mouth, as if she wanted to speak, but she couldn't speak, and finally said: "Queen Mother, you have ascended to the throne, I don't know when you will be able to introduce slaves to the emperor?" ”

This is an exchange with Wei Wan'er when the queen was still a concubine. She helped her drug the empress, and she helped her reshow her face in front of the emperor. But she never expected that Concubine Xian was also like the queen of Daxing, and when she saw that she had no value, she abandoned her like a piece of.

Concubine Shun said with a smile: "Don't worry, Little Lord Wei, this is a big deal, and it needs to be considered in the long run." He glanced at the queen deeply and said, "I have been planning with the queen's master." Wei Wan'er kept an eye on her heart and said bluntly: "What is the master planning, can you let the slave and maid listen to it?" Concubine Shun was introverted, the city government was very deep, and she said quietly: "I will arrange it for you after I plan it." ”

The step-queen also said: "You can rest assured." ”

At this point, Wei Wan'er couldn't find fault with her face and said, so she had to say: "The slave and maid are doing their best to the master, and please don't forget the credit of my eastern tour." The queen didn't like her to talk about the Eastern Tour again, and her face collapsed.

Coming out of Jingren Palace, it was raining heavily outside, Wei Wan'er asked her relatives to borrow an umbrella, but Luo Qing turned her face and turned her back and said that the two were in trouble. Wei Wan'er couldn't help but be angry, and threw the umbrella in Gong Street, and returned to the bedroom in the heavy rain. The attendant was soaked by the rain, and fetched water to wait for Wan'er to change her clothes.

The attendant said: "Little master, why are you suffering? ”

Wei Wan'er's face was expressionless, and her eyes were as angry as dead fish beads. After a while, she said: "I was wrong, I thought that I could get the emperor's favor by relying on them - all wrong, everything was wrong." ”

The attendant didn't know what she meant, and said, "What's wrong?" ”

Wan'er pursed her lips and stopped talking.

Gradually into the summer, the sky is clear, and the sky and the earth are like a furnace scorched by the sun, and it is hot everywhere. Under the corridor of the palace, a Hunan bamboo curtain has been hung to shade it, and Wu Shulai stood at the corner door to blow the wind, but the sweat on the door of his head did not stop for a moment. For a while, Er Qi took the chilled melons and fruits to Qingyunzhai, and when he passed by Wu Shulai, he smiled and said: "Grandpa Wu is not hot, otherwise I will ask the girl to send you two pieces of watermelon to relieve the heat?" Wu Shulai didn't dare to underestimate Er Qi, after all, she still had a layer of identity, and she was the cousin-in-law of the pure master. He laughed and said, "That's the best." He added, "I'm sorry for you to help me take a look at it again, and if the Lord of Banzai finishes eating the fruit, call me." The ministers of Hongdeden can't wait..."

It's all for the master, Er Qi understands Dali, and said: "After eating the fruit, I'll give you a gesture." ”

Wu Shulai hurriedly answered "hey" twice and said, "Thank you." Erqi lifted the curtain and entered the house, the emperor and Qingcheng were painting under the window, there was a half-meter-long rice paper on the desk, and the two of them drew half of it, silent, only the slight sound of the tip of the pen falling on the paper. The emperor was more accomplished in the end, and he painted faster than Qingcheng, and when he finished painting, he stood behind Qingcheng and watched her paint.

Qingcheng said: "My paintings are becoming more and more unsightly. ”

The emperor didn't care, and said, "It's just to pass the time, and it's okay for me to see it." He smiled again: "There is my pen and ink on it, and it is still a good price to sell it in Shangjing." ”

Qingcheng paused and said with a smile: "The king of a country still wants to negotiate the price with the people." I felt that my hands were so sore that I lost my pen and said, "I don't draw anymore, my hands hurt." The emperor pinched her wrist, rubbed it carefully, and said, "Is it hurting here?" Qingcheng snorted, and the emperor led her to sit on the kang, pressed her seriously, and said, "It won't hurt if you rub it." He hung his face, and seriously devoted his mind to her wrist, and the glass on the window folded the scorching light from outside into the room, and reflected it on his face, handsome and mighty.

Knowing that the ministers were still waiting for him to discuss national affairs, he was only worried about her hand pain at this moment.

Qingcheng said: "I heard that the household tribute has been booked by the show girl. The emperor couldn't take his eyes off it, and said in a deep voice: "Who did you listen to?" Qingcheng said angrily: "Who do you care who I listen to and what I do?" You only answer me, are you? The emperor said: "The ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty, do you want to be angry?" Qingcheng said: "But I'm just not happy." The emperor hooked his lips and smiled, pulled her fingertips, and asked, "Does it still hurt?" Qingcheng said: "Hand pain is a trivial matter. ”

The emperor got up and said, "I think it's a big deal, it's much more important than a draft girl." ”

He walked out, Qingcheng followed behind him, the palace maid presented a cool crown, Qingcheng put it on for him, and said, "Since it's not important, why do you still choose?" After a pause, he said: "The harem is full, where can the palace be vacated?" The emperor said: "The Internal Affairs Office is already tidying up the courtyard, and the step-queen and Concubine Shun are in charge." ”

Qingcheng muttered: "I came one after another, and I chose it year after year, and it was really endless." ”

The emperor laughed when he heard her full of jealousy, pinched her cheek, and said, "I'll talk about it later." Qingcheng sent him to Yikun Gate, and Fang turned around. Shengyu passed through the corner gate of Changchun Palace, occasionally heard the sound of monks chanting, raised his eyes to look inside, vaguely saw Su Linen clothes, his mind was stagnant, and he remembered that it was about to be the death day of Queen Daxing. Then he said, "Go, call the eldest princess." ”

Wu Shulai agreed, trotted inside, and turned around in a moment.

I didn't see the eldest princess, but only followed a plain-clothed palace person. When I got closer, I realized that it was a harem concubine. The emperor only felt familiar, but he couldn't remember the name, so he stared at it silently. Wei Wan'er's chest surged, and she stopped in front of the corner door and breathed a sigh of relief, before she stepped into the palace street and knelt down, and said, "Slave Wei Wan'er asks the emperor for peace." ”

As soon as she mentioned her name, the emperor traced the opportunity and thought about it.

Wu Shulai stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Wei promised to be the maid of Queen Daxing, and she has been accompanying the eldest princess to wear linen and filial piety these days, and serve in front of the bed. The emperor raised his eyebrows, thinking of all kinds of love and affection of Empress Daxing during her lifetime, and remembering that the eldest princess had no mother at a young age, he immediately felt pity and love, and asked: "In front of the bed?" What happened to the eldest princess? ”

Wei Wan'er said calmly: "The eldest princess knelt in front of the tablet of Queen Daxing all night, lost her physical strength, and fainted. I took the decoction just now, and I am already much better, so the emperor doesn't have to worry. The emperor said angrily: "Why don't you tell me about such a big thing? Wei Wan'er was embarrassed, and said secretly: "The slave and maid are low, and I went to Jingren Palace to meet in the morning, and the queen mother was still resting and did not summon the slave and maid, but only told the slave who was on the errand in the gatehouse." ”

The emperor asked, "Are you staying by the eldest princess's side all the time?" ”

Wei Wan'er was impartial and said: "Queen Daxing used to be the master of the slave servant, and the slave and maid watched the eldest princess grow up, and the old friendship is there, so you can't sit idly by." Therefore, the slave and maid violated the palace system and guarded the eldest princess for one night, asking the emperor for forgiveness. ”

She raised her face, her cheeks were full of tears, and her eyes were even more sad and timid.

The emperor's heart moved, and he remembered the green orange when he was young, the kind of timidity, the kind of panic, the face was not the same, but the subtleties were extremely similar. He thought for a moment before he said, "Get up, take good care of the eldest princess, I will remember your filial piety." ”

Wu Shulai has been following the emperor for decades, his heart and eyes are clear, he helped Wei Wan'er up with his own hands, and said politely: "Wei promise to be careful." Wei Wan'er hurriedly said, "Thank you, Father-in-law Wu." The emperor said again: "When the eldest princess can stay, you can follow her to the Heart Cultivation Palace." No matter when, let Wu Shu pass it on when he comes. ”

Wei Wan'er looked surprised, half of her joy was not revealed, and she said, "The slave obeys the order." ”

When the holy public opinion was far away, Wei Wan'er slowly walked back to the eldest princess's bedroom. With a smile on the corner of her lips, she sat on the kang and sipped tea. The eldest princess came out of the back room and said childishly: "Why don't you let me see Huang Ama?" Huang Ama finally remembered me..."

Wei Wan'er remained silent, asked the eldest princess to sit down, and saw that no one was there inside or outside, before she said, "Do you want to stay in Changchun Palace for the rest of your life until you die?" Or let the step-queen marry to Inner Mongolia on the grounds of marriage? Don't you want to avenge your imperial mother? ”

The eldest princess said: "I just want to meet with Huang Ama and explain the reason for the matter to him." ”

Wei Wan'er took the eldest princess's hand and said gently: "Silly boy, do you think that whatever you say, your emperor Ama will believe it?" If he doesn't believe, what are you going to do? She shook the eldest princess's hand and said, "The slave and maid grew up watching you, and your emperor and maid have been served by the slave maid before she died, please believe in the slave maid." I don't let you see the emperor today, saying that you are sick, so that you will feel distressed by the emperor, and only when he is distressed, he will often think of you. After all, you are the eldest princess, the daughter of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, with this identity, there will be a day when you turn over. Before that, did you listen to the slaves and maids? ”

The huge Changchun Palace, the eldest princess with an incomparably noble status, can only rely on a slave now.

And she is a slave with a bad mind.

The eldest princess had no choice but to say, "I can listen to you, but—tomorrow you must take me to the Emperor Amma!" "It's not to tell the step-queen how she murdered her imperial mother, nor to confide in her suffering, she just misses him, as a daughter, misses her father, wants to lean on his arms, rely on him, rely on him.

Wei Wan'er was also afraid that the news would leak out, so she asked the step-queen to use some means, so she said: "Okay, I'll take you there early tomorrow." ”

As night fell, Hai'an stared at the minions and poured cold water into the well, pouring buckets and buckets down the platform corridor, and the heat on the ground was tumbling, and a trace of coolness slowly appeared. Jiao'er was playful, swinging under the begonia flowers, and four or five grandmothers around were waiting, making the court full of laughter. Yongzhang Yongying left school, didn't care about changing his sweaty clothes, and teased Jiao'er together. There is only a little princess in the palace, and she has the same mother, and the two brothers are very fond of her. Carrying and hugging, Yongzhang grew taller, and often let her sit on her shoulders and pick the apricot blossoms and pear blossoms that bloomed on the high branches.

Qingcheng heard the three brothers and sisters laughing in the house, so he lifted the curtain and walked out of the door, saying, "Don't make trouble, go back to the house to bathe." ”

Jiao'er refused, and Yongzhang persuaded her: "Sister, you will only be fragrant when you bathe yourself." Yongying followed: "When you finish taking a bath, the sixth brother will bring a little squirrel to play with for you." As the two brothers spoke, Qingcheng had already walked off the platform, came to Jiao'er, leaned over and took her into his arms and walked back, and said, "Emperor Ama is here, seeing that you are stinky, I want to dislike you." ”

Yongzhang Yongying followed behind Qingcheng and entered the pavilion together.

The grandmothers took Jiao'er to the bath room, Qingcheng looked at Yongzhang Yongying's homework, and said nothing, "It's almost the death day of Queen Daxing, you two brothers go to Changchun Palace to lay the foundation stone and talk to the eldest princess." You were kind when you were young, and now she has no mother, you should comfort her more. Yongzhang held a grudge, the pimple in his heart was still there, and said: "She used to want to bite Jiao'er to death, but it was really hateful." Yongying didn't remember much, and said: "The old thing is gone, and she has also learned a lesson, so why mention it again." Then he said to Qingcheng: "E-niang is right, tomorrow, I will go to Changchun Palace with my third brother to visit." ”

Qingcheng nodded, and did not leave the two of them late, so he called them back to bathe in honeysuckle water. When the emperor came to Qingyunzhai at night, Qingcheng told the emperor what Yongzhang and Yongying said, and the emperor said: "Yongying grew up with us since he was a child, and he is quite talented in writing and painting, and he is also generous. The palms and backs of the two brothers were full of meat, Qingcheng was displeased, and said: "Yongzhang was older back then, and he remembered the eldest princess's bite of Jiao'er clearly, and he loved Jiao'er so much, why is he not generous?" ”

The emperor knew that he had said the wrong thing, and echoed her: "That's right. ”

She embroidered a purse under the lamp, and the emperor sat opposite reading a book. The fire was bright all around, and dozens of palace lamps were lit. The two talked casually, each doing their own things, but they were also stable and inactive. The windows are all open, the moon is as big as a plate, hanging high in the night sky, and the summer breeze blows in the fragrance of flowers and herbs, mixed with insects and frogs, making it more and more quiet and leisurely.

The emperor said: "Empress Daxing died of illness, the eldest princess is young and helpless, and you can't count on what the step-queen will do for her, so you will bother." Qingcheng stopped what she was doing, looked up and said, "The eldest princess is in a husband's house, she is not in a hurry to marry, but she has to choose carefully." The Emperor snorted and said, "I'm just worried about this. Qingcheng said: "Actually, you don't need to worry too much about this matter, according to my meaning, it is better to hand over the matter of recruiting horses to Fu Heng, he is an uncle, and he is only a sister of the queen of Daxing, and he has to dig out his niece, and he has to think more and do more than any outsider." ”

Plainly wise and martial, the emperor didn't expect this, and said with a smile: "Very good." ”

Early the next morning, after the eldest princess finished eating, she took a sedan chair and went to the Palace of Nourishing Heart with Wei Wan'er. With the emperor's dictation in front, Wu Shulai did not dare to slack off, and led the two of them to wait in the side hall. Unexpectedly, there was an eight-hundred-mile rush from the frontier, and the emperor worked political affairs, discussed with the ministers until midnight, and did not even eat dinner. Wei Wan'er couldn't see the emperor, she was unwilling, and she fought with the eldest princess.

The evening breeze rose, the palace lamps swayed under the corridor, the windows and doors were wide open, and Wei Wan'er walked to the platform to look into the distance, but there was no movement in front of her. Finally, the voice of the palace people came, she was overjoyed, and she was busy stepping forward to greet her, and when she arrived at the corner, she realized that it was Yikun Palace who sent someone to the Heart Cultivation Palace to pass the word. The two grandmothers wore one-color gray forged unpatterned robes, held palace buns, and carried two sheep's horn melon skin lamps in their hands. One of the elders said, "The pure master asked when the Lord would go down to court?" ”

The one who replied was Wu Shulai's eldest apprentice, who was also the eunuch in charge, and said: "It's not sure yet, looking at the momentum, I'm afraid it's going to be dawn." The elder mother said: "Since this is the case, I will return to the pure master's words and let her sleep first." The eunuch in charge said: "This should be the case, when the Lord of Banzai goes down to the court, I will report to the Lord of Banzai." They said a few more words and then went their separate ways.

A pure concubine is a pure concubine, and she can sleep by herself without waiting for the emperor.

Wei Wan'er also wanted to go back to the house to persuade the eldest princess to wait, after all, it was not easy to come here. Unexpectedly, the eldest princess also came out just now and listened to the words of the palace people. She said, "Let's go back today, and come back tomorrow." Wei Wan'er was still afraid that Empress Ji would know about this and make a hindrance, so she said: "Wait, wait for a stick of incense to disperse for a while, let's go back." ”

The eldest princess didn't want a day's work to be in vain, so she agreed.

The night became thicker and thicker, and standing on the platform and looking far into the depths of the palace wall, the pavilions seemed to be covered with a light veil in the moonlight. After all, the eldest princess was young, sitting on the stool and gradually dozing, Wei Wan'er was afraid that she would be unruly with her face up, so she stood in front of her stool and let her head rest on her waist. After a while, the emperor dispersed, and the people in front of the emperor were busy serving the emperor, so they forgot about the two people in the side hall.