Concubine Shun waited under the corridor for a long time, and then the palace people lifted the curtain and came out to spread the word, saying: "The queen has a terrible headache, and she has rested, please come to the master tomorrow to pay tribute again." ”

Concubine Shun hurriedly said: "Can you invite the imperial doctor?" ”

Gong said: "I've already gone to invite." ”

Concubine Shun nodded, walked back to the dormitory along the palace corridor, walked a few steps, and found that half of the gold-encrusted sapphire pendant had fallen from her ear, so she helped the green bamboo to look back.

After arriving at the pillar, I suddenly saw Shanrou walking hurriedly with the palace lamp, and the concubine was alert and hurriedly flashed into the dark. It stands to reason that Shanrou is a first-class female official next to the queen, and even the emperor looks at her differently.

Then he said: "Luzhu, you quietly follow Shanrou and see what she does, who she sees, and what she says." ”

Luzhu promised to leave, and Concubine Shun stopped looking for earrings and went back to the house alone.

After a snack, Concubine Shun was thinking about the green bamboo, so she slowly paced in the yard. The moonlight is clear, the blue sky is dotted with stars, and there is silence all around, with the occasional insect and frog chirping. The green bamboo turned around at the end of the year, and the palace gate was almost locked.

Retreating from everyone, without waiting for Luzhu to breathe, the concubine asked by the way: "What's the matter?" ”

Luzhu said: "The slave and maid followed Shanrou to the Qianqing Gate, but they really didn't dare to go out, so they had to wait in the middle of the road." About half an hour later, I saw Shanrou leading Lord Wang from the Imperial Hospital back to Changchun Palace. After a pause, he lowered his voice and said, "At this moment, Lord Wang is still in front of me." ”

Concubine Shun thought for a moment, turned countless thoughts, and said, "Do you hear what to say?" ”

Lu Zhu thought about it carefully, and Fang said: "The slave maid was afraid of being discovered, so she could only follow from a distance, she didn't dare to approach, and she didn't hear anything." But looking at Shanrou's appearance, it was very urgent. ”

Concubine Shun said: "The queen mother is becoming more and more elusive. Seeing that Luzhu was sweating profusely, he said: "Go down and wash up, quickly change your clothes, drenched, be careful of the cold." ”

Lu Zhu responded: "Yes." Then he withdrew.

For seven or eight days in a row, the queen said that she was sick and did not see the guests, and she also spared everyone from asking for peace. Concubine Shun wanted to enter the palace several times, but she was stopped outside, and even Shanrou and others were also mysterious, so that people couldn't see clearly and couldn't guess.

Not long after the election, the new concubines who entered the palace had not yet had time to sleep, and the emperor took Qingcheng to Chengde for summer vacation. The holy driver went out of the Shenwu Gate, sent dozens of carriages, flags fluttering, and walked on the official road, both sides were covered by yellow curtains, and the people were not allowed to approach. Qingcheng lifted the curtain of the car, and could not see the bustle of the market, and pounced on the yellow sand on his face.

provoked Haian to laugh and said: "When the emperor sees you, he won't be able to recognize you." ”

Qingcheng also smiled: "If I hadn't kept my mouth shut, I'm afraid it would be a mouthful of mud." ”

The group walked slowly, arriving in the evening. The emperor worked tirelessly, led the green orange to stand on the top floor of the Qingyin Pavilion and looked at it from afar, seeing the sunset in the west, the glow was like a crimson orange, and Rao was full of tenderness, and said: "I have been thinking about bringing you here, and today I finally came." The house is cramped, and the place is wider than the Forbidden City. ”

Qingcheng smiled and said, "The scenery of the palace is novel, I want to have a good time." ”

Lacquered wood palace lamps hung under the flying eaves, and as night approached, the candles became more and more transparent. The two stood quietly for a while, and the emperor asked, "Are you hungry, you were in the carriage just now, and the meal was not good." ”

Qingcheng shook his head and said, "The carriage was bumpy, and I almost didn't spit out my bile, and I don't have much appetite at this time." Xu was outside the palace, and there were more and more rules, and the emperor didn't care, but said: "I'm a little hungry." Then he turned back and said, "Put it on the table." ”

Wu Shulai said respectfully: "May I ask Lord Banzai, is the dining table here?" When he saw the emperor's head, he hurriedly went down and ordered. The palace had already sent people to take care of it, and many food and snacks had been prepared in the palace, so it was only half a while, and a table was full.

The emperor poured half a glass of wine, handed it to Qingcheng, and said, "Madam, accompany your husband to have a drink." ”

Qingcheng's heart was very happy, he stretched out his hand to take it, and he drank it all, and said: "If it is like this every day in the future, only the two of us, admiring the moon and drinking, this life can be regarded as free." ”

The emperor said: "What's so difficult about this, let's stay until the New Year and then go back to the palace, and tomorrow will be the beginning of spring." Qingcheng knew that the emperor was coaxing herself, and there were so many concubines in the harem, how could she dare to monopolize it, but she was happy to hear it, so she happily responded: "I can write it down." ”

After a long journey and a meal, he prepared for a peaceful sleep.

The emperor rested in the Nian'en Hall, and after the green orange waited for him to wash, he would return to the apse to sleep. The emperor said, "Don't go, just rest here today." "It's not in the palace, and there are no rules at all, Wu Shulai didn't dare to advise, just stood quietly.

Qingcheng said: "My things are in the apse, it's not convenient." ”

The emperor glared at Wu Shulai and said, "Who asked you to move Su Guiren's things to the apse?" ”

Wu Shulai knew that the emperor had drunk wine and was on the rise, so he didn't dare to shirk it, and said, "The slave immediately asked someone to move back." I thought I was just letting Su Guiren sleep here, but I didn't want the emperor to say again: "Su Guiren and I eat and live together, and I don't have to move to the apse in the future." ”

Wu Shulai was shocked in his heart, and said cautiously: "So... Unruly. ”

The emperor raised his eyebrows and said, "Whatever I say, you just do it, don't be verbose." Wu Shulai was angry when he saw the emperor, how dare he say anything, and secretly waited for Emperor Ming'er to finish drinking, so he only promised to go down and install everything.

Qingcheng ordered someone to cook sobering soup, fed the emperor to drink, and said angrily: "Look at you, the amount of wine is not as good as mine, and I got drunk after only half a pot, and I don't know how you coped with the palace banquet." ”

The emperor smiled and said: "I am not drunk with wine, people are drunk with themselves!" ”

The emperor was crooked on the bed, Qingcheng gently leaned on his chest, unscrewed the dragon button, and then took off the jacket outside, and the emperor suddenly said: "Madam, I feel so hot." Qingcheng didn't raise his head, and said: "It's more comfortable to take off your clothes, and I'll call someone to find two baskets of ice bricks later..."

He still spat on the smell of wine in his mouth and muttered, "No ice cubes, just have you." ”

Because she was out of the palace and afraid of the heat, she wore a diagonal robe made of green yarn, and she didn't wear a middle coat inside. Hongli arched into her neck, he drank the wine, the strength was infinite, I don't know how much strength I used in my hand, I always felt that with a slight pull, the button snapped and fell off.

The brocade robe of silk and yellow embroidered roses was revealed, and he almost instinctively kneaded his big palm up.

Qingcheng was in pain, patted him on the arm, and said, "It hurts." ”

The emperor rarely showed a naughty look, and said with a playful smile: "It's not comfortable when it hurts." ”

He has experienced countless women, and what Qingcheng needs, he knows best in his heart, so he has made enough efforts to make her happy. In the palace, there are always countless people listening and watching outside, she never dares to be loud, and she is presumptuous today.

Although it was the middle of the night, the lights in the Changchun Palace were bright. The queen vomited several times in a row, and Shanrou led the palace people to wait, and she didn't even have the time to doze off. At dawn, it was better to stop a little, but the queen was hungry again. The kitchen man hurriedly lit a fire and made two pastries for the queen to fill her belly, only to eat two pieces and vomit again.

On the second day, Luzhu went to the kitchen to get food, and saw that the cooks were all drowsy, and asked carefully, but no one dared to say it at first, and then made two ingots of silver, and Fang set up words.

She hurriedly went back to the house and said, "The people in the kitchen said that the queen eats and vomits something these days, I'm afraid that there is something wrong with her stomach." ”

When Concubine Shun heard this, she suddenly brightened up and said, "It's not that there is something wrong with the stomach, I'm afraid I'm pregnant." ”

Lu Zhu revealed a trace of doubt and asked: "Pregnancy is a great joy, why does the queen want to hide it?" ”

Shun Concubine said: "I'm afraid it's against whom." Then he then admonished, saying: "This matter must not be publicized, you and I just don't know, and we must not tell others." ”

Seeing that Concubine Shun was solemn, Lu Zhu hurriedly responded: "The slave knows." ”

After two or three days, Wang Jinbao, the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office, led several palace maids into the Changchun Palace to do business, and the queen did not see him when she was sick, Shanrou stood on the steps and said: "No matter what important things you have, let's talk about it after a while." ”

Wang Jinbao was extremely polite in front of Shanrou, and he stammered: "The former Dongling went to Xinzheku, because I haven't been able to take care of adding people to the general election, and today I specially sent a few proper aunts to ask the queen to stay." ”

The queen is less than three months pregnant, the fetal image is not stable, the less people know, the better, how can you lead outsiders at this time, Shanrou said: "You are kind, but the queen is sick, and she has no energy to see, it is better to wait for a while to get better, and then carefully select." ”

Wang Jinbao saw that Shanrou insisted on this, so he didn't dare to say any more, so he took the order and retreated.

On this day, the sky is clear and blue, and the thin and clean clouds are like groomed feathers, slowly curling with the wind. Qingcheng personally took the palace people to pick a few baskets of roses in the courtyard, and returned to the room, a lake blue silk dress was half soaked with sweat, and was about to change it, but Hai An took a cigarette purple tribute satin narrow arrow sleeve and stepped forward, and said with a smile: "Just now, the people in front of the emperor came to pass the word, and the master asked the master to change his riding clothes and go to Nian Entang to speak." ”

Although the emperor let Qingcheng eat and live with him, Qingcheng didn't dare, or stayed in the back bed.

Qingcheng loosened her hair in a bun, braided a thick braid, put it on again, and took a look in front of the long glass mirror, feeling more comfortable than wearing a palace skirt. Suddenly, the silk curtain was flipped, and the emperor came in, he was also wearing a red horseshoe sleeve riding suit, looked at her for a moment, and said with a smile: "It's very heroic, but there is a bit of Manchu style." Then he led her out and said, "Have you ever learned to ride a horse?" ”

Hai'an saw that the two of them were going out, and the sun was strong, for fear that the orange would tan, so he hurriedly took Zhu New's black skin and red tasseled hat and waited with him.

Qingcheng replied: "When I was a child, I used to ride a horse with my brother at home. ”

The emperor smiled and said, "You still have an older brother?" ”

Qingcheng replied truthfully: "Two." ”

The sun shines directly on the face, and it is warm and hot.

The emperor took the red tasseled hat from Hai'an's hand, helped Qingcheng put it on, and said, "Can you get fame?" ”

Qingcheng said: "My mother is not in good health, and my second brother has been taking care of her at home. She originally wanted to mention Jian Yuheng, but when she opened her mouth, she felt that she couldn't tell it clearly, so she simply hid it.

The emperor didn't think about it carefully, and said casually: "When I participate in the imperial examination, I will find him a good official position." ”

Although it is in the palace, the imperial guard of honor is not a lot, and dozens of palace guards are behind them, holding a straight-handled yellow umbrella on the ninth street, and they go all the way to the Ten Thousand Trees Garden. The minister of Shangyu Reserve Office has already taken care of everything, only to see that the land is wide and the sky is wide, the green carpet is like a tree, and the pine trees, giant cypresses, ancient elms, and old willows are sparsely planted, just like visiting the Mongolian grassland.

The emperor raised his hand and patted it gently, and the imperial guards brought two red horses, he grabbed the bridle, and said, "Do you dare to go up by yourself?" The horse's hooves suddenly kicked twice, Qingcheng was startled, and with an exclamation of "ah", he grabbed the emperor's sleeve and shrank behind him in a panic.

When the emperor saw this, he couldn't help laughing, and said, "I also said that you have ridden, and I still believe you." ”

Qingcheng was teased by him, embroidered his fist hammer on his shoulder, turned around to leave, and said coquettishly: "Let you laugh at me, I won't ride anymore!" ”

The emperor hugged her and said in a low voice: "Okay, good, good, I don't laugh at you, it's all bad for me." The smile on the corner of his lips couldn't help but spread. Counting the guards who patrol with Hu, there are always hundreds of people inside and out, and the emperor's people who treat Luan's guards have never had a good face, and now that this is the case, everyone is so shocked that even their eyes are about to drop.

The emperor took Qingcheng on the horse's back, led the horse for half a circle, and then turned over and got on the horse. He said, "Hold the horseshoe with both feet, hold the reins tightly, and pull to the left when you go to the left, and to the right when you go to the right." The waist should be relaxed, rising and falling with the horse's back. ”

The emperor has always been meticulous and patient, Qingcheng was still cowering at first, but the emperor never got tired of teaching, and she gradually tasted the fun.

After only half an hour, the emperor said: "Your first time riding a horse, don't practice for a long time, be careful that your waist and legs hurt." ”

Qingcheng was already tired and out of breath, so he nodded. After getting off the horse, the two of them entered the yurt to rest, the royal hoop is spacious, with several giant trees as pillars, with tables and chairs and soft couches, all engraved with intricate and delicate gold paintings, and a thick wool blanket is spread underneath, which is submerged into the ankles when stepped on.

The two of them freshened up a little, and Qingcheng said: "When does the emperor want to eat, I picked roses with the palace people early in the morning, and rode a horse, and I was a little hungry." The Emperor laughed and said, "I have been prepared for a long time. As he spoke, he glanced at Wu Shulai, but after a while, a palace man stepped forward with a food box and filled the table with the same plates. Although it is not as precious as a delicacy, it is all a local specialty snack: there are puff pastry, eight treasure rice, two immortal ju bowls, cake jelly, baked cakes, pancake boxes, Bagou baked cakes...

Qingcheng said with a smile: "The emperor has really thought about it. ”

The emperor saw that she was dripping with beads of sweat on her forehead, her eyes were rolling, and there was a faint momentum of the main throne in her gestures, so he said, "Do you want to be promoted to the first rank?" He was used to acting recklessly, and it was the first time he asked the concubine if he wanted to be promoted.

These days, unrestrained, so happy, so that Qingcheng almost forgot all the disturbances of the Forbidden City, and the emperor mentioned this, she was stunned. As if waking up from a dream, the sky shattered and fell one by one.

Her heart sank, and she said in a low voice: "It's all up to the emperor's will." ”

The emperor saw that her smile faded and looked lost, thinking that she was worried, so he said: "If you don't want to, you can wait until you are pregnant before being promoted, and at that time, others will have nothing to gossip." Seeing that Qingcheng nodded, he raised his chopsticks and said, "Let's go." ”

In the evening, a grand fireworks show was held, and folk acrobatics were appreciated, as if this was the case, Qingcheng could no longer be as happy and bright as before, as if he suddenly understood, no matter how good the dream was, there would be a day to wake up. In the past, she had no desires and no desires, she had to get by, and she never felt that there was anything to lose, but now, the dream created by the emperor for her was so good and wonderful that she was reluctant and attached to it, and she couldn't bear to let go.

The queen passed the snacks, and Shanrou picked out some of her favorite foods in the kitchen, and asked the palace people to carry them into the house. When she got to the bottom of the corridor, she suddenly turned out from behind the tree, she squinted and saw that it was Jin Ling from Xianfu Palace, she couldn't help but jump, and hurriedly pulled her to a hidden place, and shouted: "Are you crazy?" Dare to run to Changchun Palace. ”

Jin Ling looked anxious, looked around, and said, "If it wasn't for the urgency, I wouldn't have come." ”

Shanrou saw that she was in a hurry, full of beads of sweat, afraid that something would happen, so she hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Jin Ling said: "I can't come out for too long, I'm afraid that they will be suspicious, so let's make a long story short." He leaned over and muttered something in Shanrou's ear, and when he saw someone coming in the distance, he didn't wait for Shanrou to speak, so he flashed straight behind the pillar.

Shanrou was shocked, didn't dare to slack off, and hurried back to the house with the food box. The queen was dizzy and drowsy, and when she saw Shanrou walking in a hurry, she forced herself to open her eyes and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Shanrou bowed, raised her face, and the palace people who were waiting around understood, and retreated silently.

She said: "Just now Jin Ling said that Concubine Gao planned to take advantage of the emperor's absence to poison Concubine Qing. ”

The queen was also startled, and said strangely: "She is in such a hurry, but why?" It stands to reason that Concubine Qing has entered the cold palace, even if the emperor is in the palace, it is rare to meet, so why bother to dirty her hands for this. ”

Shanrou took the pastry out of the food box and pondered: "Maybe she has something secret, and Concubine Qing also knows that if she says it, it will be a big crime, so she has to act first." ”

The queen nodded, picked up a piece of auspicious ruyi scroll on the table, took a bite of it, and said, "We have to plan well, don't let her rush first." ”

Zenjudo: "Yes." ”

In the small courtyard in the northwest corner, the grass is luxuriant, the crows are flying, and there is a woman wearing a scarlet makeup embroidered rose robe sitting on the porch, her beautiful eyes ripple, looking up at the sky, staring for a long time, not knowing what she is looking at. In front of the courtyard, there was an old door with withered vermilion paint, tightly closed, silent. I only heard the sound of "crunch", the door was opened, someone came in, through the bleak weeds, Ying Ying bowed, and said: "Slave Jin Ling to Qing Master Greeting." ”

Qing Concubine's face was sluggish, and after half a sound, she came back to her senses like a fryer, and she hurriedly said: "Did Master Gao come up with a way to save me?" ”

Jin Ling bent her eyes and smiled, put down the food box, shook Concubine Qing's hand, and said, "Master Gao is worried about you, so he specially ordered me to talk to you." ”

Qing Concubine said with anticipation: "What does Master Gao command? ”

Jin Ling said: "Master Gao reassures you, she will think of pleading with the Lord of Long Live for her son." Qing Concubine breathed a sigh of relief, a smile overflowed on her withered face, and said, "I know that Master Gao is not a merciless person. ”

The sky was getting darker, and Jin Ling couldn't delay, so she said: "Master Gao knows that you like to eat bird's nest porridge, and I'm afraid it's rare to eat it in the cold palace." As he spoke, he took out the white-glazed imitation wood grain porcelain bowl from the food box, opened the lid, handed it to Qing Concubine, and said with a smile: "It's still hot, you can taste it." ”

A trace of doubt crossed Qing Concubine's mind, but she didn't have time to think about it, so she took two sips, and sure enough, it was delicious and smooth. Jin Ling saw that Qing Concubine had eaten, how dare she stay any longer, a smile appeared on her lips, she bowed down and bowed, and left quickly.

However, after a long time, Qing Concubine felt unbearable abdominal pain, but fortunately, a medical woman came out of the Xisan Institute, saw that someone was sick, and she carried all kinds of medicinal materials and plasters, so she was busy giving Qing Concubine a silver needle, eating a decoction of loose poison, and saving Qing Concubine's life. Qing Concubine hated lying on the wooden bed, in a trance, but she kept muttering and cursing someone, muttering, and couldn't hear clearly.

After the emperor finished handling government affairs in Nian'en Hall, the moon was already hanging, he changed his clothes and went straight to bed. Qingcheng was reading a book under the lamp, when he heard a commotion outside, and knew that the emperor was coming, so he got up and went to the bottom of the corridor.

The emperor smiled from afar: "Why haven't you slept yet?" ”

Qingcheng bent his knees and said, "I've seen the emperor." ”

The emperor stretched out his hand to help her up, only to hear her say softly, "I'll wait for you." Seeing her tiredness, the emperor rubbed her palm and said, "If you are tired, it doesn't hurt to sleep first." There are so many things in my dynasty that I often don't remember the time. ”

Qingcheng shook his head and said, "As long as the emperor can come, no matter how late it is, I will be happy." She had no hair in a bun, and her hair was covered with green silk in front of her, and when the wind blew, she fluttered and jumped like a butterfly. When the emperor saw that her face was like a peach blossom, her eyes were like autumn water, and her body was faintly and faintly sprinkled with a fragrance that was like nothing, he couldn't help but wrap up her waist and hug her to the house.