There are palace people standing in the outer hall, and when they hear the sound, they all know it. They crept to close the door and stand guard by the outermost porch, and if anyone came to tell anything, they would all push it away. It was really inconvenient to stand and act, Qingcheng was afraid, the emperor felt that it was interesting, and took Qingcheng's low moan in his kiss, while moving, he didn't forget to look at the lights and shadows by the river, and gasped: "It's like someone is watching..."

After Wen Cun, the two changed their clothes again, and then ordered Hai Anxuan to be late.

The night sky is clear, the Milky Way is dark and dark, and the dense stars are like pearls sprinkled in the hand, covering the sky. The emperor took the green orange for a walk on the deck, the ship sailed very gently, and the river breeze blew the corners of the two people's robes and robes, and rattled. The honor guard was separated by a hundred paces, and Qingcheng leaned on the emperor's arm, pacing slowly.

If I could, I would like to go on like this for the rest of my life.

A eunuch panted and climbed onto the imperial boat, chased after the guard of honor, and whispered: "Grandpa Wu..."

Wu Shulai looked back and saw that it was the head of the queen's palace, so he hurriedly turned around and asked, "What's the matter?" The eunuch in charge had a wrinkled face, tears in his eyes, and said, "Grandpa Wu, you have to help the slaves pass it on, the queen's master... The queen's master has lost her soul! Wu Shu was shocked when he saw him, and a big stone had already hung in his heart, but now that he really heard it in his ears, he still felt unbelievable.

He asked, "Tell me more details." ”

The eunuch in charge didn't dare to hide it, and said carefully: "The queen's master was not in good spirits yesterday, and he woke up in the middle of the night after sleeping until midnight, saying that someone wanted... Murder her. I finally persuaded him to fall asleep, and when I got up in the morning, I was in good spirits, and I went to say hello to the Queen Mother. I had dinner at noon, and I asked the doctor to ask for a pulse, and I prescribed two calming soups, I thought it would be fine, but unexpectedly... Unexpectedly, I just said that I saw it... When I saw the ghost, I almost jumped into the river, but it was thanks to the minions that I couldn't get into trouble. The stakes were so high, Wu Shulai didn't dare to hesitate, trotted to catch up with the emperor, and called: "Long live the lord." ”

Disturbing the interest, the emperor suddenly lost his smile and reprimanded sternly: "What's the matter? ”

Wu Shulai didn't add a trace of oil and vinegar, and told the matter as it was. The emperor was concerned, and called the eunuch in charge next to the queen to come forward and ask, "Can you announce that the imperial doctor is guarding?" The eunuch said respectfully: "I have already announced Lord Wang and Lord Chen." The emperor nodded, his face was worried, and he said to Qingcheng, "I'll take a look." ”

Qingcheng took the opportunity to say: "I'll go with you." ”

The emperor glanced at her and said, "No need, the wind is strong at night, and I have a headache after blowing for a long time." If I come back late, you can rest early, and you don't have to wait. After that, he ordered Wu Shu to summon the boat boat and move the queen's green bird boat. After the emperor left, most of the imperial ships were empty, and Qingcheng was idle, so he embroidered purses and shoes and socks with Hai'an under the window.

She was willing to keep watch for a little bit of time, waiting for him.

I don't know how long it took for the emperor to return. Qingcheng slept unsteadily, and as soon as he entered the house, he woke up. The emperor took off his robe and burrowed into her bed, saying, "Haven't you fallen asleep yet?" Qingcheng saw that he was tired, and guessed that the queen must be bad, so he didn't ask much, just hugged his waist and snuggled quietly.

The emperor couldn't sleep, lay on his back, looked at the top of the tent with melons and fruits, and suddenly said: "I hope that you, no matter what happens in the future, you will not do anything that hurts heaven and reason." I want you to remember that everything is arranged by me, even if you are bullied, reprimanded by the Queen Mother, or framed by them, you will not do anything. You have to believe that I will keep you safe. Even if you want to punish someone, let me do it. ”

He said something suddenly, Qingcheng seemed to understand, and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?" ”

The Emperor hugged her sideways, tightly, as if to insert her into his body. In the end, he didn't say anything, just solemnly said, "You just remember." After a pause, he said tiredly, "Go to sleep." ”

Living on a boat is no better than being in the palace, and everything can be blown away like the wind, so that everyone knows. Boats are far apart, and not everyone can summon boats to run around. Therefore, very few people know about the queen's illness. The emperor didn't say what happened that night, and Qingcheng didn't ask again. A few days later, when they arrived in Qufu, everyone abandoned the boat and lived in the palace, and Qingcheng realized that the queen said that she had bumped into a ghost that night, referring to the death of the Emperor Gao's concubine.

She was clever, and considering the emperor's intentions that night, she understood the general situation.

The queen got off the boat and couldn't afford to be ill, and she couldn't even participate in the ceremony of memorial in the Confucian Temple, but fortunately, the queen mother presided over the overall situation, so that the concubine visited the shrine and sacrificed everything. Qingcheng climbed Mount Tai in Dongyue with the emperor, and went to Jinan to visit Baotu Spring, Lixia Pavilion, etc., just seven or eight days, then drove back to Luan, embarked on the journey back to Beijing.

On the last night of the Shandong Palace, Qingcheng slept sweetly, and a scream suddenly crossed the night sky, which was terrifying and cold, so that the palace could not sleep. Qingcheng habitually squeezed into the emperor's arms, and moved until he reached the edge of the bed, only to realize that there was no one on his side.

She rolled over and sat up and shouted, "Someone, hold the lamp." ”

The palace keeper who kept vigil outside the closet took a wax skewer and lit two red gauze lamps, and the crimson light reflected on the curtain, making the room look warm and comfortable. Qingcheng asked, "What about the emperor?" The palace man replied: "In the first half of the night, Dong Ling in the queen's house came to ask for a ride, saying that the queen was bad, and the long live lord didn't say a word, and he didn't even wear a robe, so he got off and left." He trembled and said, "Master, were you woken up by a scream just now?" It's been a quarter of an hour, and the slave listens, it's coming from the queen's house..."

Qingcheng Zhengse said: "Don't talk nonsense." ”

The palace people were afraid of Qingcheng, and hurriedly said: "The slave and maid lost their words, please forgive the master." Qingcheng touched the empty position on his side, there were too many people he had to worry about, how could he stay by his side all the time? Thinking about it late at night adds to the sadness. She couldn't fall asleep tossing and turning, so she simply got up and put on a dress, stood at the bottom of the stairs outside the house, and walked back and forth looking at the moonlight.

The emperor returned to the Qingcheng room at dawn, and when he saw her walking around under the porch, he got angry for no reason, and said, "Why did you come out, and the clothes are not well dressed, and you will have to get seriously ill if you catch a cold." Then he felt that what he said was really unlucky, as if he was going to curse her, and he sulked more and more. Qingcheng didn't dare to ask anything, followed the emperor into the house, waited for him to wash his face and rinse his mouth, drank two sips of lotus seed tea, and the sky was already bright. Qingcheng said: "Why don't you rest for a while?" Although he was angry with her, Qingcheng didn't care about him in such a critical time. After drinking the tea, the emperor's heart calmed down a lot, and he said gently: "Don't stop, you have to go back to the palace quickly." ”

At noon, he got up and took a carriage for three days, and when he arrived in Texas, he abandoned his horse and boarded the boat and returned to Luan along the canal.

When he came out of the palace, Qingcheng never saw the queen again. Every time she wanted to visit, she would be stopped by the emperor, saying that he was afraid that the queen would pass her illness. What's more, she is still nursing, and if she gives it to Jiao'er again, it will be really troublesome.

When he returned to Beijing this time, Qingcheng did not get on the emperor's imperial ship, but was on the same boat as Yongzhang, Yongying and Jiao'er as originally prepared. The children are very happy that they can finally live with their mothers, play as much as they want, and make trouble whenever they want, without having to be as restrained and boring as on the Queen Mother's boat. Qingcheng didn't know the queen's situation at all, and felt faintly worried in his heart, but he didn't show it at all in front of the children, and he was happy to eat and play with them.

When the emperor didn't come at night, she took her three children to sleep, at least she didn't feel lonely.

Sometimes tossing and turning at night, Qingcheng will secretly think, fortunately, he has a lot of children, big and small, and loves each other, even if he really falls out of favor one day, with them by his side, he will not be lonely. For three days in a row, Qingcheng did not see the emperor, and he did not even say a word from the emperor. All she knew was that the ship was constantly heading towards Beijing, and it was going faster and faster. And she, as if she was cut off from the world, knew nothing except the things on her own ship, except for the three children's eating, drinking, and Lazar.

The atmosphere is getting worse and worse, although no one tells Qingcheng anything, but Qingcheng knows from the decoration of the boat in the distance that something big is not good. One morning, Qingcheng stood on the deck and looked at it, and found that all the lights on the ships had been removed and replaced with white gauze lights, and looking at the queen's boat from a distance, it was crowded with people, and the sound of weeping could be faintly heard.

In a few moments, a eunuch from the Internal Affairs Office came to pass the word, saying: "Qiyu pure master, queen mother... It's up. ”

The sun was scorching and scorching, and everywhere he looked, he suddenly turned white, shaking people's heads dizzy. Qingcheng was frightened, his body shook, and he fixed his expression and asked, "Where is the emperor?" The eunuch replied: "Long live the Lord didn't sleep for two nights in a row, and the Queen Mother made a decree and ordered the master to wait for the master to return to the imperial ship to rest." ”

Qingcheng snorted in a trance and said, "Your Majesty, he... Is he alright? ”

The eunuch is just the eunuch in charge of the Internal Affairs Office, and the masters are "good or not", he doesn't dare to talk nonsense. As soon as Qingcheng opened his mouth, he knew that he had asked in vain, and without waiting for the eunuch to answer, he ordered: "Xuan Xiaochuan is here, send me to the imperial boat." ”

Her tone was categorical, and no one could refute it at all, and no one dared to refute it. Qingcheng went back to the house to change into plain clothes, helped Hai'an to the boat, and arrived at the royal boat from time to time. She was familiar with the way, and was about to go to the house, but a little eunuch rushed to her and knelt down, and said, "Pure master, long live the lord has rested, please stay for a while and come again." ”

Qingcheng looked at him and asked, "Why haven't I seen you before?" ”

The little eunuch buried his head on the deck and said, "The slave is the messenger eunuch of Jingren Palace." Qingcheng was stunned, and before he could speak, Hai An reprimanded: "Confused things, dare to stop the pure master!" The little eunuch was already at a loss in his heart, so he trembled, and said: "It's the meaning of the master, the minion..." Then he casually summoned the eunuch standing next to him and said, "Where is Wu Shulai?" ”

The eunuch replied: "Gonggong Wu is serving inside...", and stole a glance at the eunuch brought by Concubine Xian, and said respectfully: "Pure master, wait a minute, and the slave will enter the house and spread the word." ”

Qingcheng nodded and said, "Go quickly." ”

But after a while, it was Concubine Xian who personally greeted her, and said from afar: "My slave doesn't understand the rules, and I ask the pure master to forgive." Seeing that his master was helping to speak, the messenger eunuch hurriedly knelt down in front of Qingcheng, kowtowed, and said, "The slave deserves to die, please forgive the pure master." Concubine Xian said again: "It's me who is not good, I said casually, let no one disturb the emperor." The emperor hasn't had a good rest for a few days, and I'm also worried, don't blame you. ”

Speaking of which, Qingcheng has to be pursued again, but it seems small-minded. What does Concubine Xian mean, Qingcheng understands in her heart that now that the queen is sick, it means that there is no owner in the harem, and the remaining four concubines are the most noble with her status as Concubine Wulanara, plus the support of the Queen Mother, maybe she will be the next successor queen.

And the pure concubine favored the sixth palace, and the concubine Xian was deliberately giving her a dismount.

The situation in the palace has changed greatly, and Qingcheng also has a sense of it, otherwise, with the eunuch of Jingren Palace, how can he have the courage to make irresponsible remarks on the royal ship. The green orange is transparent, but it doesn't break. She thought about the emperor and said, "Forget it." He bowed to Concubine Xian again and walked straight into the house. The emperor sat on the dragon chair, and several long tables were full of meals, but he sat silently, his face blank.

Qingcheng stared at him for a while, and Fang called softly: "Your Majesty." ”

The emperor suddenly lost his soul, and only after half a ring did he look up at Qingcheng, opened his mouth, and wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. Wu Shulai held a porcelain bowl with a tooth yellow lotus pattern in his hand, and begged: "Long live Lord, you just drink two mouthfuls of porridge, you haven't eaten for two days, how can the dragon body withstand it." The Emperor still sat down, as if he were talking to a minister, straightened his waist and did not move.

Concubine Xian was ordered by the Queen Mother to serve the emperor, and in front of Qingcheng, she wanted to show her status more and more. She opened the food box, took half a bowl of ginseng soup, and said to the emperor: "This is what the queen mother asked her concubines to bring to the emperor to drink, why don't you taste it." The emperor turned his face stiffly, took the soup bowl and drank it all, and returned to his original appearance without saying a word.

Qingcheng was really worried about the emperor, she took the porcelain bowl in Wu Shulai's hand, handed it to the emperor, and said: "You have to eat two bites, there are still many things waiting for you to deal with, if you are sick and injured, how can you be good?" ”

The emperor stretched out his hand and said angrily: "I can't eat it, so let's withdraw." ”

Concubine Xian saw that Qingcheng was reprimanded by the emperor, she felt very concerned, and secretly pulled Qingcheng to the side, full of pity: "Don't be sad, the emperor is sad..." Qingcheng shook off her hand unceremoniously and said, "Master Xian is too careful, I was here to comfort the emperor, how could I be sad because of my unintentional words?" ”

Even if she is really disliked by the emperor and snubbed by the emperor, she can't be guilty of letting Concubine Xian be a peacemaker.

While the two were talking, the emperor shouted inside, "Green orange." Qingcheng was too lazy to entangle with Concubine Xian, turned over and entered the house, and said, "What's the matter?" The emperor raised his head, like a child, and said, "I remember that when I was in Chengde last time, you made a boiled cabbage with your own hands, and I suddenly wanted to eat it." The sunlight from the glass window shone on his face, and Qingcheng could only see it clearly, his face was tired, his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were white, and his face was black.

He was so haggard that Qingcheng almost cried.

Qingcheng said: "I'll do it right away, you wait a minute." Concubine Xian was unwilling to let others fight for her face, and said busily: "There is no kitchen on the royal ship, and if you want to cook, you have to go to the back cargo ship, the identity of the pure master is delicate, and if you go to that kind of pickled place, I am afraid that you will lose your identity." The concubine looked at the fried cabbage on the tribute in the imperial dining room, and thought that the taste was similar, so it was better to..."

Before he finished speaking, the emperor suddenly said, "Concubine Xian, you go back first." ”

Concubine Xian was stunned for a moment, thinking that she had heard it wrong, she was specially ordered by the Queen Mother, how could she... She smiled and said: "The queen mother has a will, let the concubines guard the emperor until they return to the palace..." After a pause, he took care of the queen mother's face and said: "You have been serving me for most of the day, and you have been running around a few days ago, and you are tired, go back and rest." ”

Regardless of whether Concubine Xian stayed or not, Qingcheng didn't take it to heart. At the moment, her most important thing is to make a plate of boiled cabbage for the emperor. There were many and miscellaneous people on the cargo ship, and of course Wu Shulai couldn't let his master set foot on it. He was clever and thought of a good idea, so he asked the eunuch to carry the stove, spatula and dishes, firewood, rice, oil and salt to the imperial ship, and prepared a basket of washed cabbage, eggplant, meat foam, chicken, duck, fish, etc. He had a thorough plan, thinking that the pure master would not be able to cook a meal in ten years, and whether he remembered to take a shovel or not was a mystery. It's better to prepare more ingredients, this plate is fried, and you can fry another plate. The cabbage is gone, and there are eggplants.

He even found two Su cuisine cooks to wait on the imperial ship in advance, just in case of emergency.

Qingcheng doesn't know how to fry other people's boiled cabbage, anyway, her frying method comes from her mother. Heat the iron pot first, put a piece of fat and fry it, and the solidified lard. When the lard has melted, throw five or six garlic in the oil, and fry the garlic until the garlic is fragrant, pour half a bowl of water into the pot, boil the water until it sizzles, sprinkle a handful of salt, and finally put the whole plate of cabbage into the pot to boil. Stir-fry twice at will, then remove from the pot and serve on the plate.

It was such a plate of cabbage with only oil and salt, and the emperor actually ate two bowls of rice.

After eating a full meal, the emperor's spirit was slightly better. Concubine Xian had already left, and the meal was withdrawn, and there were only two people left in the house. Qingcheng waited for the emperor to clean his face and wash his hands, changed into a civilian robe, and sat next to him to talk. She said: "We haven't seen each other for a few days, and last night Yongying wrote two words, saying that she wanted to show you." After a pause, his tone became more and more calm, and said: "Jiao'er is learning to speak, and I heard her calling me Eniang in a trance, I don't know if I heard it wrong." ”

The emperor said: "Jiao'er is not yet a year old, and she spoke too early, so you should have heard it wrong." Qingcheng nodded and said, "Maybe, Yongzhang Yongying is late to speak, they are brother and sister, not far apart." "The setting sun slowly fell, leaving a long phantom on the surface of the river. The crimson sunset dyed the surroundings bloody, calm and a little depressing. The emperor turned sideways, lowered his straight shoulders, leaned on Qingcheng, looked at the endless river outside the glass, and said bitterly: "Before the queen died, I reprimanded her, she was so sick that she couldn't sleep, I also reprimanded her, Qingcheng, you say, did the queen die by me?" ”

On the eve of her death, he yelled angrily: "It was you who killed Shu Yao, so that you will be revered by ghosts and evil spirits, and it is karma!" ”

Shu Yao is the small character of Emperor Gao's concubine, and the more guilty the emperor is, the more he can't forget it.

Qingcheng didn't know the reason, and when he saw that the emperor was remorseful and blamed, he said: "The emperor is the true son of heaven, and he has blessed the people by the will of God." Even if there is anything wrong, it is the will of God. She gently stroked his face and said, "The queen lost her two sons, and her body and bones have long been lost." In addition, if you work hard day and night on palace affairs, you will become seriously ill, and it has nothing to do with the emperor. ”

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Really? ”

Qingcheng said: "When did I lie to you." "As twilight fell, a thin black mist hung over the room. A eunuch entered the house to turn on the lamp, and Qingcheng hurriedly glanced at him and asked him to go out. The emperor snuggled up to her shoulder and fell asleep, the first time he had slept so peacefully since the empress was seriously ill. Qingcheng did not dare to move, nor did he dare to speak, for fear of waking up the emperor. Fortunately, she had a forged green soft pillow at hand, so she could borrow it for the time being.

Concubine Xian returned to the queen mother's boat, and when the queen mother asked, she directly said that it was the pure master who went to the imperial ship, and she didn't dare to disturb. The emperor didn't want to eat, and let the pure concubine make boiled cabbage and other things were hidden, only to let the queen mother think that it was the pure concubine who won the favor, and she was wronged. The Queen Mother really comforted her and said: "You don't need to be angry for the pure concubine, what do you want, the mourning family knows in their hearts, although they are at ease, there is a mourning family, and the position of the middle palace is yours." Concubine Xian said dignifiedly: "The concubine must do her best to assist the emperor." ”

The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction and said, "You're also tired, let's rest." ”

Concubine Xian knelt down and went into the west room to eat and sleep. For a while, Concubine Shun came to ask for peace, and did not pass in front of the Queen Mother's house, but quietly turned into the side room and went to the small side hall to talk to Concubine Xian. The palace people held the spittoon high, and Concubine Xian spit out the tea that she rinsed, took the tea bowl and ordered: "They all retreat to the outer hall and corridor, except for the emperor and the queen mother, whoever asks to see or ask for peace will say that I have slept." ”

The palace man agreed, but retreated.

Concubine Shun took off her cloak, revealed her face, and said, "She's here." After finishing speaking, Wei Wan'er, who had been dressing up as a palace maid at the back, stepped forward and curtled her knees and said, "Master Xian, please be safe." Concubine Xian smiled, stretched out her hand to help, and said gently: "It's all a family, so you don't have to be polite." And he said, "Sit down." ”

Wei Wan'er said: "The concubine is no longer sitting, Qingque Fang has set up a mourning hall, I can't leave for too long, so as not to make people suspicious." Concubine Xian said: "You are delicate and very good." Wei Wan'er said: "Master Xie Xian praised. Concubine Xian nodded and said, "You have done a good job, and I will definitely not treat you badly in the future." Wei Wan'er pretended to be ecstatic, and said, "The concubine is willing to serve the master for the rest of her life." ”

Concubine Xian seemed to be very happy, and said with a smile: "Okay, good." ”

The three of them took advantage of the moonlight to plan for a long time, and they did not disperse until midnight.

Because the person who got off the queen mother's boat, and Concubine Shun was there, the palace guards did not check carefully. Except for Concubine Xian and Concubine Shun, no third person knew that Xiao Xiao promised Wei Wan'er that she had been on the Queen Mother's ship.