Hai'an recalled the first master he served, Concubine Zhe, she was the first woman to enter the palace when she was the emperor or Baylor, gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, and enjoyed the favor, when she was terminally ill before her death, she wanted to see the emperor, but the emperor wanted to listen to the new servants singing songs, and the people below did not dare to tell her, and regretted the end.

The thin sun outside the window gradually set in the west, and the sky appeared in a gorgeous rose, Hai Anqiang smiled: "Long live the Qing Dynasty, of course, it is not as childlike as ordinary people." Seeing that Qingcheng's face was gloomy, he hurriedly changed his words and said, "The master is hungry, and the slave and maid go to urge the people in the kitchen." After speaking, he packed up the makeup box and bronze mirror, but retreated.

After two or three days, in the evening, Wang Jinbao of the Internal Affairs Office entered the Changchun Palace with a sweat, and it happened that the queen was using snacks, he did not dare to enter the palace to make a statement, and waited under the corridor, anxious like an ant on a hot pot. After half an hour of incense, he saw Shanrou come out of the curtain, and he hurriedly stepped forward and whispered: "My good aunt, I bother you to spread the word." ”

Shanrou looked at him, not as calm as before, so she asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Wang Jinbao knew that she was the first person in front of the queen, and there was nothing to hide, so he said: "The boss said that he wanted to investigate the miscarriage of the master, I asked someone to tie up the medical woman in charge of the imperial hospital with a thin medical background, and only used two punishments, and I haven't used powerful means yet, I don't want the medical girl to hold on, biting her tongue and killing herself..."

When Shanrou heard this, her heart and eyes jumped wildly, and she said in a low voice: "Don't say something to shirk, but make the master disgusted." After finishing speaking, he turned back to the palace and carefully told the queen. The queen was drinking bird's nest soup, listening to Shanrou's words, she paused a little in her hand, and then put the porcelain bowl with the icing on the cake on the kang table, and shouted: "Wang Jinbao!" ”

Wang Jinbao hurriedly answered loudly, bowed into the temple, did not speak, and bowed his head and knelt on the ground.

The queen said, "What's the matter?" ”

Wang Jinbao listened to Shanrou's persuasion, and did not dare to shirk, but said: "The doctor woman who is in charge of the harem master with a thin medicinal background killed herself." ”

The queen asked, "Is the medicine still thin?" ”

Wang Jinbao said: "It's still here, but the records of the past half a month have all been torn up, and the doctor girl's mouth is very tight, and she refuses to say anything." He didn't dare to look up, only to feel as if a cold light shot at him like a sword, and his whole body was like an ice cave.

After a long silence, the queen said lightly: "Since you are dead, there is no way to do it, you can go down." Wang Jinbao thought that he would inevitably be punished, and he didn't want the queen to easily forgive him, so he was stunned and went out as if he was about to be amnesty.

The stakes are so high, the queen didn't dare to delay, she re-dressed her makeup, and sat on her shoulder to go to the Heart Cultivation Palace.

When I arrived at the Xinuan Pavilion, I saw that the ivory carving palace lamp under the corridor was lit brightly, but it was dim inside, thinking that the emperor had gone to the palace of the concubines, so he announced the people in the respectful room to ask: "Whose sign did the emperor lift?" ”

Li Yu replied truthfully: "Long live the lord is called today." ”

The queen was stunned for a moment, understood in a trance, and said, "Is the emperor still at the military aircraft and hasn't returned?" ”

Li Yu said: "Long live the master, I'm afraid I'm going to the study to watch my brother's homework." ”

Seeing that it was still early, the queen got up again and went to the study. There are a few small rooms hugging the building behind the study, warm in winter and cool in summer, the emperor loves to read there since he was a child, after ascending the throne, there is a prince, and the teaching and training are often here. She got out of the sedan chair, but saw that the surroundings were quiet, and it didn't look like there was a prince. When I arrived at the porch, I saw two reflections reflected in the screen window, and I sat by it, my heart and eyes suddenly burst, and my sour heart couldn't help but slowly rise up.

The emperor sat cross-legged on the west kang reading a book, Qingcheng sat beside him, took an enamel four-inch plate and put it on his lap, and peeled the yellow kumquat with his slender fingers. The fragrance was overflowing, and the emperor turned his face to look at her and said, "Is it sweet?" ”

The green orange didn't raise his head, and said casually: "I haven't peeled it yet, I'll eat it with you for a while." She was about to throw the orange peel into the colorful spittoon at her feet, when she suddenly heard someone outside shouting: "Long live the Lord, the queen is here." ”

Qingcheng's hand shook, and he looked up at the emperor blankly, and the emperor happened to be looking at her too, and when he saw her panicked, he couldn't help but laugh softly: "What are you afraid of?" He lowered his voice again and said, "Although I protect you, if they really bump into you, it will be nothing." ”

Wu Shulai raised the curtain high, and the queen entered the house, and when she saw Qingcheng standing by the threshold, she was slightly stunned before she said, "Get up." ”

The emperor smiled: "Why are you here?" The queen bent her knees and asked for peace, sat down opposite the emperor's kang table, and said: "The concubine has something to report, and she is afraid that there will be mistakes and omissions, so she does not dare to take the idea without authorization, so she has come to ask the emperor to show her." ”

Qingcheng peeled two oranges, put them on a plate, put them on the kang table, and said respectfully: "The queen tastes the oranges." ”

The emperor personally took one and handed it to the queen, and said with a smile: "The kumquat paid tribute by the Ya of Changde County, Xiangxi, tastes excellent. It was rare for the emperor to take such care of himself, and the queen's heart warmed, and she said gratefully: "Thank you for the emperor's reward." Seeing that the emperor picked up the remaining one, he broke it lightly, turned around and handed half of the green orange, the green orange reached out to take it, and he was not grateful, and sat on the square stool of the red sandalwood wisp hollow carved luan in front of the kang, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and looked at the emperor, as if he was happy and complained.

The queen looked at the brightly colored kumquat in her hand, and suddenly realized that she was the mother of the country, but in front of the emperor, she was not as good as a little nobleman. A thousand tastes surged in my heart, tumbling and boiling, and I couldn't tell whether it was loss or resentment.

The emperor said, "Just say anything." ”

The queen held back her expression and said: "The medical woman in charge of the imperial hospital who is in charge of the concubine with a thin medicine base has committed suicide, and the concubine's miscarriage is like a kite with a broken string, and the concubine doesn't know how to lead the needle next, and I want to ask the emperor to make it clear." ”

The smile on the corner of the emperor's mouth gradually faded, and his eyes showed a fierce color, and he said: "It is a big crime involving the nine clans that the palace people commit suicide, and ordinary people will never dare to act like this." ”

The queen said: "The concubine thinks the same as the emperor." ”

The emperor nodded, turned his face to look at Qingcheng, who was chewing oranges in his mouth, and suddenly saw the emperor and queen looking over, and hurriedly swallowed a few mouthfuls, but he didn't know what to say, so he had to say: "Oranges are so sweet." ”

When the emperor saw her innocent, he couldn't help but smile and asked, "What do you think of the doctor's suicide?" ”

In front of the emperor and queen, Qingcheng originally planned to never talk about things, but when he heard the emperor ask himself solemnly, he didn't dare to be perfunctory at will, and thought about it for a moment in his mind, and said: "The more people involved, the more people behind it are not simple." People who can make the doctor kill themselves and hate the concubine, if they are carefully screened, they will always find clues. ”

The emperor bowed his head and said approvingly: "You are reasonable. ”

He clenched his fists in his hands and said fiercely: "This matter must be thoroughly investigated, I want to see who the cunning villain behind the curtain is." Queen, Ming'er, you will ask the Internal Affairs Office to take people to search all palaces and halls early in the morning, no matter what clues there are, you must investigate them to the end! ”

Seeing that the emperor was angry, the queen hurriedly said: "The concubine obeys the order." ”

After the queen left, the emperor accepted the book and tiredly leaned on the Su embroidery pillow to sleep. Qingcheng asked softly, "Your Majesty, do you want to sleep peacefully?" ”

The emperor seemed to wake up from his sleep, opened his eyes suddenly, and said in a low and sad voice: "They only know how to calculate and invite favors all day long, and they refuse to let go of even my heirs!" ”

Qingcheng didn't want the emperor to suddenly say such a thing, so he was so surprised that he didn't know how to answer for a while.

Seeing that the emperor's expression was sad, revealing a weak color that was very different from the past, he snuggled at his feet, quietly suffered for a while, put his chin on his lap, and said with a slight smile: "There is always a way to solve everything, and when the queen finds out the real culprit, the emperor will punish him severely." ”

The emperor looked at her face, and saw a pair of black eyes reflected in the candlelight, sparkling, as bright as stars, pure as the clearest autumn water in the world. He couldn't help asking, "Aren't you afraid?" The Han people always say that accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger. Qingcheng thought about it, and the emperor saw that she was silent, and suddenly felt a little panicked in his heart, for fear that she would say something that he didn't like to hear, and he had nothing to do.

Qingcheng said: "Now I am not afraid. ”

The emperor didn't want her to answer so neatly, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he asked, "Why?" ”

Qingcheng said like a child: "I'm not afraid that the emperor will be angry with me and condemn me." After a pause, he looked directly at the emperor and said, "I'm just afraid that you will snub me and ignore me." ”

The smile in the emperor's eyes became deeper and deeper, and he often gave women many promises, but at this time he touched the softest place in his heart, but he just said: "When the days are hot, I will take you to Chengde Villa for the summer, and I will take you alone, and we will live quietly for ten days and a half months." The Emperor reached out and lifted her up and sat her down beside him, and she leaned gently against his chest, but there was no sound in his ears except for the sound of a strong heartbeat.

The next day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs searched all palaces and halls with great fanfare, and no one dared to say anything because of the emperor's dictation. The emperor dispersed and went directly to Jingren Palace to talk to Concubine Xian. Concubine Xian experienced the pain of losing her son, in addition to begging the emperor to strictly investigate the murderer, she didn't have the slightest desire to invite favor, but just cried silently. The emperor first patiently comforted her, but when he saw that she had not changed color, he became disgusted, and he didn't even use the meal, so he hurriedly set off.

After a period of time, Qingcheng sat on the kang and embroidered a purse, with Suzhou silk as the base, finely and densely decorated with dragon patterns.

The emperor lifted the curtain and entered, and without waiting for everyone to say goodbye, he waved his hand and said, "All stand down." He sat down beside Qingcheng, leaned his face into her hand, and said, "Embroider two lotus flowers at the bottom, I wear them with me, and I will think of you when I see the lotus." ”

Qingcheng pouted, deliberately hid his purse behind him, and said, "This is what I left for myself." ”

The emperor smiled, pinched her chin, and said, "Little girl, you dare to joke with me, no big or small, what kind of system." ”

Qingcheng knew that the emperor was not angry, and asked, "How do you know?" ”

The emperor said: "The dragon pattern embroidered on it is a royal thing, don't you understand your little thoughts?" ”

Qingcheng had an epiphany and said with a smile: "I see." He asked again: "Is the emperor available for dinner?" ”

The emperor got up, stretched out his hand to untie the dragon buckle around his neck, and said, "What kind of food are you eating here?" Qingcheng hurriedly collected the needle and thread, waited for the emperor to retire from his wide coat with his shoes, and said: "Duck porridge and Shaanxi cold skin." ”

The emperor was still waiting for her to say something, and when he heard her stop abruptly, he couldn't help asking, "It's gone?" ”

Qingcheng said: "It's gone." ”

Hongli turned around and smiled at her, and said, "Did those dog minions bully you when they saw that you were punished in front of the Queen Mother?" ”

Qingcheng ordered Si Ji Shanggong to bring civilian clothes, and put the imperial crown into the vermilion lacquer imperial plate, and said: "No, I was sick before, the queen rewarded a lot of supplements, I ate some fire, duck porridge cold supplement, I specially ordered someone to make it." ”

The emperor changed into two dragon pattern forged robes embroidered in Xuan-colored Suzhou, not fat or thin, and his posture was handsome. He said, "I will taste it too." ”

The kitchen set up a meal, except for duck porridge and Shaanxi cold skin, and four dishes of sour side dishes. The emperor has always loved meat-eating food, and everyone in the harem knows that every time the emperor comes in person, he always treats him with delicacies.

Qingcheng said: "The emperor should not underestimate this porridge, it is washed with the finest duck meat of Zhuangong, cut into several small pieces, mixed with salt and rice wine, marinated for an hour, and then put it into boiling water and boiled a few times, skimmed off the white foam, and then put in the japonica rice and boiled it for half an hour before it was served." He scooped up a large bowl of duck porridge, handed it to the emperor, and said: "There are a lot of wine banquets in the palace, and occasionally eating porridge is also a way to maintain health." ”

The emperor said, "You know a lot. ”

Qingcheng smiled, with the quiet calm of an ordinary family between her eyebrows and eyes, and said: "When I was a child, I was at home, and my mother loved to cook for the whole family. I started to work on the side, and over time, I got to know a little more. He added: "I have a specialty dish - squirrel osmanthus fish, which is a famous dish in Suzhou. If the emperor has leisure one day, I will cook it for you. "The emperor is used to eating wine, meat and fish, and today the pickles are porridge, which is very fresh. Qingcheng saw that he used it well, and brought him a bowl of cold skin, and he ate it all.

After listening to the lecture in the afternoon, the emperor went to Shoukang Palace to ask the queen mother for peace, and it happened that the queen and the noble concubine were there, and the two saw the emperor and got up to say goodbye. The emperor's sacred heart was happy and jokingly said, "It's rare for you to come together." ”

The queen panicked in her heart, and said embarrassedly: "The emperor said that he was joking, the concubines and concubines have always been close, and they are often invited to visit the imperial garden, but they are not bumped into by you." ”

The noble concubine knew that the emperor didn't like the harem to compete for favor, so she hurriedly smiled and said, "That's right." ”

Originally, it was just a casual joke, but seeing that the two of them looked nervous and anxious to confess, the emperor suddenly felt tasteless, and it was not easy to show it in front of the queen mother, so he took the tea and sipped it. Coming out of Shoukang Palace, the noble concubine saluted according to the rules, left the queen, and left.

Shanrou couldn't help but say: "Master Gao is also too arrogant. ”

The queen tilted her head slightly and rebuked in a low voice: "What nonsense, don't look at where this is." ”

Shanrou knew that she was speechless, so she slapped her mouth twice and said, "The slave is reckless, please calm the anger of the master." After all, she was a girl who had been with her since she was a child, and when the queen saw that she had punished herself, she no longer pursued it, and only said inaudibly: "One day, I will break her arrogance with my own hands." ”

Back in Changchun Palace, the queen first summoned Wang Jinbao of the Internal Affairs Office for questioning, and then called Concubine Shun to come, took several kinds of Zhu Dan from the treasury to maintain her body, and asked her to send them to Jingren Palace. Shanrou took off the mutton fat and white magnolia flowers on the queen's ears and temples, and said puzzledly: "Why didn't the master go to Jingren Palace in person, in the eyes of the queen mother, to get a good reputation." ”

The queen looked at the white and delicate face in the dressing glass mirror, reached out and stroked the faintly visible fine lines at the corners of her eyes, crossed a trace of vicissitudes, and said slowly: "Concubine Shun is smart and capable, if you can take it for your own use, it is the best." I asked her to move into Changchun Palace and help with all the things in the harem, just to help her. ”

Shanrou waited for the queen to wash her face, and picked out some crystal clear rose paste from the small porcelain jar of magnetic tires and chrysanthemums, and evenly smeared it on the queen's face, and said: "The slave and maid look at the concubine who treats the master is no better than the ordinary, the master has a miscarriage, and she serves before and after the saddle, and she can show her face in front of the queen mother and the emperor." ”

The queen closed her eyes, so that people could not see her joy and anger, and said: "Let her send things to Concubine Xian, just to let her understand that I am her new master, don't stand in the wrong place." After a pause, he said: "You asked people to keep an eye on Yikun Palace, I looked at the emperor's appearance, and I put Su Guiren in my heart." ”

Shanrou sneered and said, "The master loves to think a lot, every time there is a new favorite in the palace, you always feel that the Lord Long Live cares about it." But which time, didn't you forget it after a few days? What's more, Su Guiren sleeps at most twice a month, can he be regarded as a new favorite? The slave and maid looked at it, and even the official women from Nanfu a while ago were not as good as miles. ”

The queen remembered the situation when she bumped into the emperor and Su Guiren in the backyard of the upper study, and she felt depressed and uncomfortable. ”

Shanrou agreed, and gestured to let the palace maid outside bring a late snack into the house. The queen was so tired that she took half a pot of wine soaked in acacia flowers, and sat alone in front of the window to drink it, without being served. The night is vast, and the lights are held everywhere, and the pavilions and pavilions are also black and only majestic outlines. Two clear oil lamps were lit in the room, and the shadows of the flowers and candles were reflected on the queen's face, swaying and falling, and she looked more and more lonely and tired.

As we enter May, the weather gets hotter. Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs hastened to track down the matter of Concubine Xian's miscarriage, it has never been traced, and the draft ceremony will be held in June, so I feel that there is a shortage of manpower and I can't keep busy.

It happened to be the fifteenth day on this day, and all the concubines asked for peace in the queen's palace, and they were all sorry when it came to miscarriage. Concubine Xian's face looked good, but in fact, her heart was still painful. Occasionally, when I meet the elder brother and princess in the palace, I always have to look at it for a long time, shouting and asking for warmth, and I like it very much.

The emperor happened to have something to discuss with the queen, and after dispersing the court, he went to Changchun Palace, and when he saw the room full of flowers and willows, he patted his forehead and said: "Today is fifteen, I almost forgot." The noble concubine said coquettishly: "What has the emperor forgotten?" Let's hear about it. ”

The emperor glanced at Qingcheng and saw that she was wearing a pine-colored brocade palace skirt, combing a square bun, and two duck green pearl hanging hairpins, sitting upright on a stool, behaving well, and observing proportions. He smiled and said, "It's not interesting for you to listen to the things in the court." ”

When everyone saw that the emperor had something to say to the queen, they got up and retired. Back to Yikun Palace, the kitchen offered several bowls of longevity noodles, Hai'an had prepared four or five bags of copper coins to reward people, and Er Qi led the palace maids under him to enter the palace to bow down to Qingcheng, and everyone was rewarded.

Qingcheng ate a small half bowl of shou noodles and rewarded the rest to a few palace leaders. The emperor had lunch and was exempted from even Su Ri's lecture, and only came with two personal eunuchs, and only said two words, when he suddenly heard a commotion outside, and someone screamed: "Don't run, I know you, the sneaky person in the womb of the master is you!" ”

Hai'an lifted the curtain and went out, shouting, "Who is making noise?" ”

There was a sudden silence outside, and the woman's crisp voice became more and more open, so that the room could be heard clearly.

She said: "I am the palace maid in charge of Changchun Palace, today is the birthday of Su Guiren, and the queen asked me to send Yinshou noodles." But by coincidence, I was hit by a collision. After a pause, he looked at the eunuch beside him like a sharp blade, and said, "He was the one who sent sour plums to Master Xian that day." ”

Nanfu: The court opera troupe of the Qianlong period