At night, Qingcheng told the emperor about Erqi, the emperor's political affairs were complicated, and he didn't have much thought about this matter. Qingcheng made a decree and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send newcomers to the Yikun Palace, and Er Qi could leave the palace after August. After receiving the will, Erqi was full of trembling, rejoicing for a while, and reluctant for a while.

The more than ten years of serving with Qingcheng are the most beautiful and comfortable seasons in half of her life.

I've been looking forward to leaving, but I'm really leaving, but I feel nostalgic.

Yikun Palace to choose the palace people, the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office Wang Jinbao first made the concubine Xian, and the concubine presented to the emperor, and the emperor signed a white note, and then handed down the will in a round, after a day, Wang Jinbao picked out the palace people from the palace, made a booklet, and handed it to the green orange.

The harem is the most favored by the Yikun Palace, and the eunuch in charge has not yet passed on the word, and the next day, the palace people from all palaces and halls gathered in the compound of the Internal Affairs Office, and they want to find a good errand. There are also people who don't show up, and there are not a few who secretly give gifts behind their backs. Although the number of palace people in Yikun Palace has been demarcated, no one dares to say anything if there are two more or two less. The eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Office accepted the gift, so they put dozens of more people on the roster, and let the green oranges be picked. On this day, the autumn was crisp, Hai'an took a look at the flat ground behind Yikun Gate, and she was standing full, which scared her a lot.

Qingcheng got up late, combed his hair in a bun and put on his robe, had breakfast, and saw Hai'an open the curtain and enter the house, and asked, "How is it?" Hai An curtsied and said, "There are dozens of people, and the slaves and maids don't know where to provoke them." Twenty or thirty of them were left on the left, and there were still ten left, so please choose three more from them. Qingcheng nodded and said, "Lead them to the side hall and wait." ”

Haian responded, turned over and went out to pass down.

Mama Li is the onion cutting mama in the imperial dining room, standing in the courtyard with low eyebrows and lowering her eyes, not daring to say anything. On the side, there is a draft into the palace, and the palace maid Xiao Rouer who works as an errand in the embroidery room. In the autumn, when the wind was strong, Xiao Rou'er put her hands in her sleeves, touched Mama Li's elbows, and asked: "I heard that there are only three people who work in the kitchen, Mama, you are on an errand in the imperial dining room, and you should be selected." On the other side, a eunuch from the worship room interjected: "Then it may be said, if you want to choose to work in front of the pure master, it is important to have a neat head and face." ”

Xiao Rou'er looked at Mama Li, and saw that her face was full of ravines, half of her silver threads were white, and her eyes were cloudy, and she could only do the work of cutting onions in the kitchen. Mama Li didn't seem to hear it, she still stood and didn't speak, her expression was not shocked. Just as he was talking, a palace man came from under the corridor and raised his voice: "Everyone, please follow me." ”

Everyone agreed, and followed the palace people into the side hall with neat steps.

As soon as she entered the house, Xiao Rou'er patted her chest and said, "But it scared me, Mama Li, did you see it just now?" Mama Li's eyes rolled and said, "Don't babble, let the master hear, it's not good." Xiao Rou'er breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the people around her, but no one spoke. She lowered her voice and said: "I just saw the pure master standing under the window, whether I can choose two or not, it is also a blessing to be treated by the pure master." ”

After waiting in the side hall for half an hour, someone came to pay attention. Everyone thought that Concubine Chun was coming, and they all wanted to salute, but they were stopped by the palace people and said, "This is Aunt Hai'an." Xiao Rou'er was stunned, and said, "Aunt Hai'an is good." Hai An smiled: "If there is something in front of the pure master, it is up to me to choose, and you will tell me one by one what year you entered the palace, where you were on an errand before, and what your name is." Everyone didn't dare to say much, and said respectfully: "Yes." ”

Hai'an doesn't care about appearance, Erqi's errand is carried by Yun Huang, and the three of them are only in the kitchen, and there are few opportunities to show up in front of the master, as long as they are properly loyal. After picking someone, Hai An led him to the house to kowtow to Qingcheng. Xiao Rouer was not chosen, but Mama Li did. Coming out of the side hall, Xiao Rou'er glanced at the main hall from a distance, the door curtain was low, and the corridor was full of black-clothed eunuchs, the soles of which were two inches high, and at a glance she knew that the emperor was inside.

Xiao Rou'er frowned sadly, and still went back to the embroidery room on an errand.

The room in the east was silent and silent, the emperor lay on the kang and closed his eyes to recuperate, Qingcheng took off his shoes and socks for him, and took the brocade quilt and tucked it away. Out of the hall, Fang Ming Hai'an led the three newly selected palace people to the west ear room to speak. Mama Li has been an errand boy in the imperial dining room all her life, but she has never entered the master's palace, let alone been an errand in front of the master. Just now, I was calm and relaxed, but now my hands are sweating, and I am excited and nervous.

Qingcheng has always treated people like a spring breeze, and she said gently: "Wait a long time." ”

Everyone knelt down to ask for peace, Hai'an had told him before, saying that Long Live Lord was making up for sleep in the east room, and if he could not make a sound, he would not make a sound. So they spoke softly, and even their breathing slowed down by two beats. Qingcheng said: "You are all talents selected from thousands of choices, and they are valued by Hai'an, so you think about it." After a pause, he smiled again: "The work in the kitchen, in the eyes of outsiders, is not easy to get out of favor, but in fact it is the most important. You think, if the things made in the kitchen are not delicious, the emperor will definitely not like to eat in Yikun Palace, and the days of coming to Yikun Palace will be less. ”

The people Mama Li used to contact were all palace maids and eunuchs in charge, at most she was a nobleman, and she was used to being commanded by arrogance, but it was the first time she had met such a kind master, and she was also the favorite concubine that everyone in the palace flocked to. Her eyes were warm, and she almost burst into tears. If it weren't for the fact that she should not be rude in front of her master, I am afraid she would cry.

Qingcheng gave a few words, and asked Hai'an to reward each of them with ten strings of copper and go back to the original errand office to pack up the bedding packages. Mama Li returned to the lower room of the imperial dining room, and before she entered the courtyard, her aunt in charge, who used to beat and scold her, was at the forefront and flattered: "You are really lucky to have walked a few lifetimes!" The ordinary old sisters also stepped forward to congratulate her, and even the eunuch in charge of the imperial dining room bowed down and echoed her, which was really refreshing.

Mama Li straightened her waist, her old face was radiant, and she took the ten strings of copper and distributed them to the palace people in the same room, and said proudly: "It's only the first day of duty, and the pure master has rewarded you with money and distributed some blessings to you." ”

A few old women were happy to wash the copper, put it in a close-fitting jacket, and took it out from time to time to show off, saying that it was their sister who had a face in front of the pure master.

The emperor didn't get up until noon, and he didn't need dinner, so he had to go to the Heart Cultivation Palace. Qingcheng knew that he was busy, so he didn't dare to stay, so he sent him out of Yikun Palace, and even his shoulder was gone, so he turned around and went back to the house. She had dinner by herself, stood under the window and copied two Yan Hua Sutras, and when she saw that the hour was not early, she only closed her clothes and squinted on the couch.

The winter satin of the imperial tribute entered the palace, and the booklet of the Internal Affairs Office was handed to the emperor, and the emperor did not have much thought to look at it, so he sent two boxes of dark green satin printed with Fushou patterns to Shoukang Palace, and then hooked more than ten silk satin silk silk to Yikun Palace, and handed over to Concubine Xian, who was divided into concubines in the harem according to the rules of the palace.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs moved the silk to Yikun Palace, Qingcheng looked at it, and began to worry again.

In recent years, Yongzhang and Yongying have grown up, and there are more and more cases year by year, plus Qingcheng's own rewards and valuables are also many, and there is no place to put them in the treasury. When the emperor came at night, he saw that more than a dozen horses were still piled up in the corner, so he asked, "What?" Not with your heart? ”

Qingcheng braided the emperor's hair, combed his hair slowly with a rhinoceros horn, and said, "The things in the warehouse are messy, Ming'er first asked Hai'an to sort out and remake the book." The emperor also knew that he had a lot of things to reward her, and she was not a luxury person, and it was common for the treasury to be unable to pile up, so he said: "Make two more robes to wear, and I won't see you wear new robes all year round." ”

Her hands were gentle, and the comb scraped her scalp, so that the emperor could close his eyes and calm down. Qingcheng said in a low voice: "I didn't wear a new robe, but the style is similar, you didn't see it." The emperor said: "Then you should do more styles, I went to Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu, and I didn't see them wear the same robe twice." Combing his hair, Qingcheng braided him, tied a new bright yellow spike at the end of his hair, and pouted: "Then do you like them more, or do you like me more?" ”

The emperor turned around and scratched her nose, and couldn't help but laugh: "Hypocrisy! ”

When it was late, Yunhuang handed over the menu, Qingcheng ordered a few things casually, and said, "You can watch it next to you." Yun Huang waited alone in front of the master for the first time, playing a small drum in her heart, and let her watch it by herself, but she was in a hurry. Fortunately, Er Qi hadn't left the palace yet, but he just intended to let Yun Huang stand alone, so he silently waited outside.

Er Qi advised: "The master asks you to make up your mind, so you just have to take the idea." But there are a few points to remember, if it is a breakfast and a snack, don't be greasy or the like, and it's best not to eat meat in a late snack. He paused, patted Yunhuang's shoulder and said, "Actually, the pure master is very good at serving, and he is not picky eater, the key is to cultivate his body." Your literacy is another layer of benefit to me. If you have time, look for more medical books to nourish your body, there are all kinds of books in the study, you can talk to the master, take a look. ”

Yun Huang wrote it down with her heart and said sincerely: "Thank you, Aunt Erqi, for your advice." ”

After the late snack, Qingcheng asked the cook to boil water and bathe in the ear room of the side hall. The emperor asked Wu Shulai to move the fold and put it in the study, he looked at it for an hour, and when he came back to his senses, it was already midnight. He stretched his waist, walked to the outer hall, and saw that the green orange was still cutting silk flowers under the lamp, so he casually picked up a goose yellow double-petaled peony in the basket, compared it with the green orange sideburns, and said with a smile: "It's so delicate and beautiful, why haven't you ever worn it?" ”

Qingcheng smiled and said, "Give Erqi a dowry, after she leaves the palace, she will always get married." ”

The emperor knew that Qingcheng was treating Erqi well, so he didn't ask much, picked a pile of gauze roses and pressed them on Qingcheng's sideburns, and helped her tie the broken hair between her foreheads. For the woman he loves, it seems that no matter what he does, he is quite interesting. The emperor took a glass diorama to take a picture of Qingcheng, praised it for a while, made Qingcheng giggle, and then satisfiedly called people into the house to wait for a good night's sleep.

Qingcheng glanced at the gilded Western clock, it was already half past eleven, so he ordered the palace people to pack up all the things and accompany the emperor to rest. In the middle of the night, the emperor was in a very good mood, holding the green orange and kneading it and refusing to let go, his ears and temples grinded until the second half of the night, the moon was about to go down, and the two hugged each other and fell asleep.

The next day, it was the day to go to Shoukang Palace to greet the Queen Mother. Qingcheng got up early in the morning, had breakfast with the emperor, and then walked hand in hand to the fork in the road between Shoukang Palace and Qianqing Palace, and then sat in a sedan chair. Before getting into the sedan chair, the emperor also advised: "You can listen to what the Queen Mother says, and let you do anything, whether you like it or not, you must agree first, and you must not quarrel in person." Qingcheng shook his hand and said, "I know, I know, when did I have a dispute with the Queen Mother?" Worry about it in vain. The emperor pinched her cheek and said with a smile: "I am afraid that you will be wronged. Seeing that the holy car was gone, Qingcheng sat on his shoulder and went to Shoukang Palace.

Along the way, I often bumped into Concubine Yu, Concubine Shu, Concubine Jia, Concubine Shun, etc., and they all blessed her to say goodbye. If Qingcheng is in a good mood, he will stop the sedan chair and say hello to them, if he is not happy, he can ignore them. Sometimes I will bump into low-level nobles, often there, and the concubines who entered the palace with Qingcheng are still known, and those who entered the palace later did not know. Since she doesn't know, even if she meets Qingcheng, she doesn't say much, it's not that she is arrogant, but she is afraid that she will admit the wrong person and say the wrong thing, which will make people hate.

Entering the Shoukang Gate, there are palace people to greet each other, enter the hall, Qingcheng will be a few days to transcribe the Buddhist scriptures to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother usually casually says "hard", and then finds some reason to reprimand Qingcheng for no reason, Qingcheng has the emperor's comfort first, and her heart is frank, whatever the Queen Mother says, she is good-natured. The queen mother said too much, and she was afraid that Qingcheng would turn her face and go to the emperor to complain, and then instructed Yongzhang Yongying not to be close to herself, so she would always say two good words after reprimanding.

Qingcheng listened to it all, but he didn't take it to heart.

Kneeled and came out of Shoukang Palace, the sun had just risen. Qingcheng was idle, didn't even sit in the sedan chair, and slowly paced back to Yikun Palace in the sun. Everywhere she went, the palace maid and eunuch would hold their breath and wait in the corner, even if it was a lowly master, if she didn't open her mouth to ask, no one would dare to invite pets in front of her. When he arrived at Yikun Gate, the lion club pounced on his son and grandson, who was now an old dog, lame and lazy, and stopped barking when he saw Qingcheng, but only wagged his tail silently.

When the sun was on the third pole, Mama took Jiao'er for a walk in the yard, Qingcheng teased the lion's son and grandson for a while, and then hugged Jiao'er for a while, taught her to read and write, and most of the morning passed. Sometimes the Ministry of Internal Affairs will also come to pay tribute, but it is nothing more than that Qingyunzhai's screen window is broken and needs to be repaired, and a bunch of yarns are picked up for Qingcheng to pick new yarns. Or the glass of the Daode Hall is broken, and new glass needs to be retrieved, but the glass is as valuable as gold, and the emperor needs to approve the security guards, and the security guards have to send a sentence before the approval of the security guards, so that they can take this sentence and go to the emperor to ask for something. If there is anything else, it is most likely that the beef and mutton provided by Qingfeng Division are not fresh, and Erqi wants to find someone to quarrel.

When the chaos reached noon, it was no surprise that the emperor would come over for a lunch break and dinner. Qingcheng would order Hai'an to prepare hot water, clothes, and the emperor's favorite soups and pastries early on. Erqi would find time to hand over the dinner list she had thought of to Qingcheng for a look, and if Qingcheng picked it, it would be put in front when it was set up, and if Qingcheng didn't pick it, it would be taken down or placed on the side table.

Qingcheng got up too early today, and at ten o'clock in the morning, he was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, so he lay on the kang with his clothes and slept for half an hour before returning to sleep. When he woke up, the emperor's holy car had already arrived at Palace Street. She casually pulled her loose hair in a bun, and helped Hai'an to Yikun Gate to greet her. The sun is shining, the autumn leaves are red, and the dead leaves are falling all over the ground. Qingcheng likes the sound of stepping on fallen leaves, so he specially asked the minions not to sweep, leaving red and yellow dead leaves, and leading the emperor to blow the wind and laugh under the tree.

After talking and laughing for a while, it's time for dinner.

Having dinner in Yikun Palace, what to eat and drink, has always been decided by Qingcheng, what she eats, what the emperor eats. In addition to the imperial dining room, the palace is the largest kitchen and the most cooks in Yikun Palace. The emperor is actually not a picky eater, as long as it is not too sweet and sour, he eats it well. However, I have eaten with green oranges for more than ten years, and the taste is gradually similar to green oranges, and I like things that are light sweet and slightly spicy. And the wine he drank in Yikun Palace, Qingcheng was strictly controlled and almost never touched.

After eating, go around the palace corridor to eliminate food, and the emperor will take a lunch break.

The emperor is not a person who indulges in lust, if he quarrels late with Qingcheng at night, he will definitely not start during the day, and will only sleep dryly. Qingcheng doesn't necessarily take a nap every day, like today, she slept back to the cage, and she couldn't sleep during the nap, so she took a needle and thread and sat under the window or embroidered or tied tassels and so on. Just play the kung fu of two spike belts, Wu Shulai will wake up outside, the emperor sleeps lightly, his vigilance is extremely high, and he will wake up when he calls. When I woke up, I put my arms on my pillow to watch the orange finish, and after saying a few more words, I got up and washed and dressed. The emperor went to the Hongde Hall to give a lecture, and the house was empty, and Qingcheng was idle again.

In the afternoon, the grandmothers of Yongzhang, Yongying, and Jiao'er will tell the three little masters of the day about their food and clothing to Qingcheng. Qingcheng listened carefully, gave some instructions, and that's it. Before the sun goes down, Qingcheng will copy two or three chapters of Buddhist scriptures, or sit cross-legged on the kang to read the book of Huizi's poetry collection. When the lantern is in hand, Yongzhang Yongying will go to the Qingcheng House to say goodbye first, and Qingcheng will ask them about their homework, and sometimes they will leave them to eat after asking their homework, and sometimes they will not stay.

It shouldn't be that the green oranges are not left, but that the two little rabbit cubs are too big to be reluctant. They stayed in their own houses and ate whatever they wanted, and they didn't know how much freedom they wanted, and if the emperor suddenly came while eating, the two brothers would not even be in the mood to eat. Yongying was not afraid of the emperor when he was a child, and the more he grew up, the more afraid he became, and now he is completely on the same combat line as Yongzhang, thinking about how to avoid the holy car no matter what the situation.

When Yongzhang Yongying asked for peace, it was completely dark.

The emperor came late at night, and there were times when he didn't come, but whether he came late or not, he would let Wu Shu send someone to pass it on in advance. Fortunately, there is still a bright child in the house, and she will not be bored when she cries, laughs, and laughs. When Jiao'er is also put to sleep, Qingcheng's heart will suddenly be lonely, and she will even wonder if she should hurry up and have another one, otherwise Jiao'er will be older, move to another house, and get married, what should she do if she guards the huge and far-reaching yard?

Qingcheng was having a snack, the emperor was not there, she ate casually, but a dozen vegetarian dumplings, mixed with a bowl of black chicken and wolfberry soup. Outside, a palace maid lifted the curtain and entered the house, and said, "Master, long live the lord just passed the word, saying that it will be late today, so there is no need to wait." Qingcheng glanced at the palace maid in a daze, and only after half a sound did she say something, "Go down." ”

Somehow, I suddenly felt very, very different in my heart that I didn't want to sleep alone. Qingcheng put on a cherry purple embossed cloak, standing on the platform and waiting stupidly. Haian persuaded her several times, but she didn't comply. I don't know how long I waited, but I saw two palace lights coming in the distance. She hurried up to meet her and threw herself into the emperor's arms, which startled the emperor, thinking that she had suffered some grievances, and hugged her and asked urgently: "What's wrong?" What happened? ”

Qingcheng wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled in his arms, and her lonely heart was suddenly full. She pursed her lips and shook her head with a smile, the emperor was afraid that she would not speak, so she asked for a long time, but she couldn't let go of her heart the next day. After asking for several days, Qingcheng said that he was worried that Yongzhang Yongying would move out of the palace when he grew up, and Jiao'er would marry and leave him.

The emperor listened to her stupid words and said with a smile: "Jiao'er is only more than a year old, so you are worried that she will get married, is it too early?" Qingcheng said: "Marrying and marrying Fujin are two different things, Yongzhang Yongying will never leave Shangjing no matter what he says, but if Jiao'er marries far away, like me, I won't be able to see her." The emperor patted her on the shoulder and comforted: "Don't worry, when Jiao'er grows up, I will definitely choose a good husband for her and build her a princess's mansion, which will be built outside the Donghua Gate. ”

shouted again, and when I went back to the east, I always said that I shouted a voice.

Qingcheng was amused by him and said, "But you have to talk about it." The emperor touched her hair like a child, and said with a slight smile: "I must be the one who speaks." Qingcheng then slept with his eyes closed peacefully.