The emperor was wearing a bright yellow middle robe, and pulled the yellow straight Nasha brocade robe from the hand of Si Ji Shanggong, draped it over his shoulders, and did not even wear shoes, and hurriedly walked outside. Wu Shulai was holding a pair of blue satin cool soap boots in his hand, hunched his waist and followed behind, and said cautiously: "Long live the lord, please wear imperial boots." The emperor paused, and the guards of honor behind him stopped one after another, gasping for breath. The emperor lifted one foot and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Wu Shulai knelt down to serve, and said: "Long live the Lord Qiqi, according to Pei'er, who serves the well-dressed under the pure master, the pure master ate a late snack in the evening, and helped Hai'an to take a walk by the imperial pool, and when he came back, he accidentally fell in front of the Yikun door, and the pure master shouted that his stomach hurt, but the palace door was locked, and the queen was already sleeping there, and the people in the straight room refused to pass it in..."

The emperor shouted: "Nonsense! The palace people inside and outside were silent, not daring to squeak, Wu Shulai was so frightened that he trembled, and then said: "The slave dared to call the shots, so that people sent a message to the imperial hospital, presumably at this time, the imperial doctor went to Yikun Palace." The emperor's face calmed slightly, and he said, "I'll go and see." He added: "Let people send Shu Concubine back." ”

When the saint drove to Yikun Palace, the palace lamps had been rekindled in all directions, and the rippling fire illuminated the Yongdao clearly. Dozens of imperial doctors took turns to check the pulse in the west, and the emperor waited in the east, and when he heard the sound of moaning in the next room, his heart was anxious and restless. After most of the hour, the court envoy Wang led four or five imperial physicians to kneel in front of the palace to pray, saying: "The pure master originally had a small half month of delivery, and today he fell, and there was no injury on his body, but he hit his stomach and broke his amniotic fluid. ”

The emperor was not as calm as before, and said irritably: "Then don't you hurry up and come up with a recipe!" Lord Wang was stunned for a moment, and hesitated: "The current situation is critical, and the slightest carelessness in the use of medicine will endanger your life." Besides, the pure master stayed up for a long time before announcing the summoning of the imperial doctor, delaying the hour, and now..."He is old and verbose, diligent and self-preservation, the emperor's eyes are cold, and he said coldly: "Don't talk nonsense, if the pure concubine has any three longs and two shorts, you can bring your head to see me." ”

Lord Wang was so frightened that he lost his soul and said, "It is really dangerous, and the slave has to make a plan early. After another pause, Fang said: "If something happens, the emperor wants to protect the pure master first, or protect the prince first." The emperor took two steps back, sat on the edge of the kang, as if out of breath, and said in his throat: "What did you say?" Lord Wang looked at him and said calmly: "The ministers are afraid of accidents, and they want to ask the emperor to show whether to protect the master first or the prince first." Every word exploded in the emperor's mind like firecrackers, and it rolled in his heart, overflowing with panic and fear that he had never felt before.

Wu Shulai began to serve the emperor when he was a teenager, and he could figure out a thing or two about the sacred heart. The emperor is majestic, and he is always indifferent in front of people, so panicked, even Wu Shulai has only met twice, once when he was the second elder brother, and the other time is now.

Seeing that the emperor hesitated, Lord Wang did not dare to urge, but just bowed to the ground and kowtowed. Jian Yuheng's heart was also on fire, knelt forward, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the pure master is still young, and there is still a chance to get pregnant in the future." Although the child is of royal blood, he has no mother in his life, which is really pitiful. Please think twice about the emperor. ”

The emperor suddenly came back to his senses, his heart was cramping, and he gritted his teeth and said, "What are you doing on your knees, don't you hurry up to save people!" I said, if there are three longs and two shorts of pure concubines, don't think about getting rid of them one by one! As soon as these words came out, the imperial doctors below got up one after another and went to the outer hall to discuss the medicine. Until midnight, the boiled medicine was fed to the green orange, and the emperor ordered to open the palace gate, and invited Wen Po to enter the palace, and when everything was fine, it was already dawn.

Wu Shu came to see that the emperor had not slept all night, and stepped forward and said: "Long live the lord, you should squint your eyes, and you will summon the envoys of the court after a while, you..." Wu Shulai said: "Wen Po has already entered, the boiling water and decoction have been prepared, and she should be able to produce at the end of the hour." The emperor nodded, moved his stiff body, and said, "Xuanren is waiting to wash up." Wu Shulai also wanted to persuade the emperor to sleep for a while, but the emperor had already put his shoes on the kang, so he bowed and retreated, and gestured to the palace people who were standing on the eaves of the corridor.

When the queen heard the wind in the morning, she was shocked, and summoned the people from the straight room to scold her fiercely, and each rewarded twenty boards, and Fang hurriedly sat on her shoulders and went to Yikun Palace. The emperor didn't have the heart to worry about her, so he only said: "You are guarding the pure concubine here, if you have anything, just ask someone to report to the Qianqing Palace, there is something in the previous dynasty, and I can't delay." The queen responded and said: "The emperor can rest assured, everything is there with concubines, and the pure concubines will not be wronged." ”

The emperor snorted, drank the mellow Junshan Silver Needle Tea, and the fatigue had faded, and the spirit shone out. When I arrived at the threshold, I turned around again, looking at the rosewood openwork vine and pine wrapped in the West House compartment, and the Hunan bamboo curtain with silver wire engraved flowers on the door leaf. Occasionally, two moans came into his ears, and his heart ached like tearing his liver and lungs.

The queen saw that he was stunned, so she said softly: "Your Majesty, it's time to listen to the government." The Emperor was silent, stared at the curtain for a long time, and then turned around and drove halfway. When the day was bright, Concubine Gao, Concubine Xian, Concubine Shun and others came to visit, and several people were kind and worried on their faces, but they had their own plans in their hearts, and they whispered outside.

Under the eaves of the Qianqing Palace, there is a Zhonghe Shao music, the palace is full of ministers, princes, envoys of the court, the emperor enters the table, the music is played in unison, the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty knock nine times, respectfully invite the Holy Ann. The emperor was wearing a yellow silk sheet gold-edged single court robe, wearing a velvet and grass-faced silk crown, with a shallow smile on his face, he entered the dragon throne, and said with a flick of his sleeves: "Flat." All the ministers thanked in unison, and the momentum was mighty, so that the noise hovered in the temple for a long time.

But at this moment, the emperor had only one thought in his heart: I don't know what happened to Qingcheng.

Concubine Shu almost didn't sleep at night, got up in the morning and had breakfast, so she sent people to Yikun Palace to investigate. Retreating from everyone, leaving only Jiaoyue and Xiang'er in front of her, she pointed at Xiang'er angrily and said: "It's all your good idea, the emperor has been keeping watch in Yikun Palace all night, and he must have put the pure concubine in his heart. ”

Xiang'er was so frightened that she knelt down in a hurry and said, "Master, don't worry too much, this matter has been done carefully, no one knows, and you can't find anything out." What's more, if you have a virtuous master on your head, it will not fall on you. Jiaoyue took a bowl of Qingxin tea and handed it to Shu Concubine, and said with relief: "Xiang'er is right, we just leaked a little lard on the ground, and in the morning the slave maid has arranged for someone to sprinkle grass ash and clean it, no matter how he checks, he can't find anything." ”

Shu Concubine listened, sighed, and said, "Can it be done properly?" Jiaoyue said firmly: "Don't worry, master, it was the little girl in the straight room of Yikun Palace who did it, and she only knew the consequences, not the causes." Half-grown people, no one notices, and their hands and feet are very flexible. Concubine Shu took two sips of tea, calmed down a lot, and said, "Xuansheng is coming, and I will also go to Yikun Palace to take a look." ”

Qingcheng was in pain all night, and he was already completely out of energy, and he didn't even have the strength to shout. In the middle of the morning, he was poured half a bowl of chicken soup by Hai Anqiang before he could speak. The first sentence is: "What about the emperor? ”

Hai An said: "The emperor guarded the master in the east all night, and he didn't close his eyes, so he went to the early court." After a pause, he twisted a warm towel to wipe away the beads of sweat on Qingcheng's forehead, and said: "The master is working harder, the emperor is worried about the master, and even the slave and maid can see it." The emperor also made a decree that even if the prince is abandoned, he must protect the master. Qingcheng was very relieved, and a slight smile appeared on his pale lips, and he said, "Don't be afraid, the boat will naturally go straight to the bridge." ”

The emperor was worried, and always waved his hand to let Wu Shu come to speak, and the courtiers didn't know about the harem, so they were all puzzled. At the end of the hour, only the attendant entered through the side door, knelt on the ground happily, and kowtowed: "Congratulations to the emperor, the pure master has been born, and he is a little brother." All the ministers came to their senses and got up to congratulate, but the emperor's heart sank and asked, "How about the pure master?" ”

Wu Shulai knew what the emperor meant, and said with a happy eyebrow: "Your Majesty, mother and son are safe!" The emperor raised his eyebrows and laughed, as if he couldn't wait, and walked out, refusing to stop for a while, he raised his face and said to the courtiers: "Let's all disperse." ”

Sitting in the sedan chair of the eight-person platform, the emperor was still too slow and urged several times. When he arrived at Yikun Gate, he got off the sedan chair, and almost trotted in regardless of Wu Shulai to stop him. The queen led everyone out to greet her, blocked the door, and said, "Congratulations to the emperor on winning the third elder brother." The emperor couldn't hide his joy anymore, and said, "I'll go inside and see the pure concubine." ”

But the queen stood still and said: "According to the rules in the palace, the delivery room is an obscene place, and the emperor should not enter." Besides—" She changed her words and said, "Pure concubines can't afford such a holy grace, please think twice." ”

Wu Shulai knelt on the ground, and said with a sad face: "If you let the Queen Mother Lafayette know, the pure master will be embarrassed." The Emperor looked into the room, and it was full of people, thinking that she was all right, as if she had woken up from a nightmare, and felt refreshed. He smiled and said, "The queen is right. After a pause, he said, "But I have to bother the queen to take care of it for a few days." ”

The queen said respectfully: "The children of pure concubines are like the children of concubines, concubines are mothers, and they must do their best to take care of their mother and son, so the emperor can rest assured." She smiled with her eyebrows, she seemed to be happier than she had a child, and said with a smile: "The emperor doesn't have to worry about the affairs of the harem, you better make a good word for the third elder brother!" As he spoke, everyone around him laughed.

Concubine Gao said: "Pure concubines are blessed people, such a great disaster, and premature birth, can survive safely, it can be seen that there are really gods in the world." Concubine Xian nodded again and again, and said: "That's right, Lafayette eats fasting and recites scriptures, just to bless everyone in the harem, and today is the manifestation of the Buddha." ”

The emperor raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Can you tell Lafayette?" The queen said: "I have ordered someone to spread it, and Lafayette was happy to hear it, and said that he would reward the pure concubine." The emperor was more and more pleased and asked, "What about the children?" When the nurse in the house heard this, she hurriedly came out with the child in her arms, bent her knees, picked up the nice words, and said with a smile: "The third elder brother is good-looking, like a long-lived master." The emperor leaned over and saw that his little dark face was still stained with fluffy hair, and he couldn't help laughing: "Where is such an ugly child like me?" He joked once, but he bluffed the nurse so hard that she almost fainted.

Seeing that the nurse's face was as purple as pig's liver, the queen pursed her lips and smiled, and said softly: "Children are born like this, and they will look good in a few days, let's Yonglian..." The emperor knew her thoughts, patted her on the shoulder, and said gently, "Do you want to hug the third elder brother?" The royal family has rules, the emperor is holding his grandson but not his son, I can't hug him, you can hug me for me. ”

The nurse handed the child to the queen, the queen was slightly stunned, instinctively stretched out her arms, she looked at the baby in the swaddling clothes, shook it gently and familiarly, and it was not the third elder brother who was holding in a trance, but her second elder brother. She stared for a long time, and her eyes showed the kindness and warmth unique to being a mother. She smiled and said: "The concubine thinks that when the third elder brother grows up, he must be a handsome man." ”

Concubine Xian did not give birth, and when she saw the emperor and queen Qin Se harmoniously teasing the child, she felt a little unhappy in her heart, but she kept smiling on her face, and there was nothing wrong with it. She sent off the emperor and queen, and helped Luo Qing to walk back to Jingren Palace slowly, with many attendants behind her, separated by a hundred steps, all of them were silent, as if no one was there. Concubine Xian sighed faintly and said: "I have been sleeping for several years, and I have also had a time when I was favored by the Sixth Palace, and my family background is prominent, but now I am not as good as a Han girl. The sky was clear, and the two of them walked in the shade behind the palace wall, and the sky was framed in a square shape, hanging low to the end.

Luo Qing smiled lightly: "Don't worry, master, if you have the queen mother, the emperor will not treat you badly." Concubine Shu is so favored, can't she stammer you? Concubine Xian sighed and said, "Don't talk nonsense, the wall has ears, so that people can listen to it, and it will lead to trouble in vain." After a pause, he said: "Concubine Shu's temperament is anxious, which is a bit similar to the master back then. I estimate that most of her favor is because of her master. Luo Qing was puzzled and asked, "How come?" ”

Concubine Xian smiled and said, "Master Gao has been favored alone for several years, and the emperor really likes it." It's a pity that the years are passing, and she can't always be reckless and unreasonable. Here comes Shu Concubine again, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, no matter what you do, men will like it. ”

Luo Qing said: "The pure master is a person from the Qiandi, and she is over twenty years old, and the emperor can treat her..." Concubine Xian's face was really lonely, and she wanted to say something, but she was speechless.

After enduring four or five days, the emperor went to Yikun Palace to visit Qingcheng. Because she was still in confinement, the doors and windows in the house were closed, and the curtains were layered, and as soon as the emperor entered, he felt uncomfortable. Qingcheng has acted as usual, she did not wash carefully, green silk shoulders, wearing a moon-white robe with dark lines of branches, bright eyes and bright teeth, standing in front of the big case to write, smelling the sound, thinking it was Hai'an, did not even raise her head, and indifferently ordered: "The peony on the case is withered, take it and throw it away." ”

The Emperor walked lightly behind her, the thin incense of the dragon hanging from the hem of his robe, and her hands were stagnant, and she was already wrapped in his arms. He said sweetly: "What are you writing?" Qingcheng stood still, let him hold him, and did not reply. Only then did the emperor look at her face, but there was no hint of pleasure, only politeness. As soon as his hand was loosened, Qingcheng quietly took two steps forward, put down his pen, and said on his knees: "The emperor is blessed with Jin'an." ”

The gilded bronze tripod burned with a calming Su Hexiang, and the slightest smoke dispersed in the light and shadow of the large glass window. She didn't apply rouge, nor did she wear a hairpin, but she just hung her head full of black silk neatly on the side of her ears, but it was already bright and moving. He held her cheeks with both hands, rubbed them carefully, looked at her for a moment, and said, "Why, I'm still angry!" ”

Qingcheng still didn't look at him properly, and said indifferently: "The concubine doesn't dare." ”

The emperor didn't get angry, he "tsk" twice, pinched her face, and Lang Lang smiled: "Little girl, you dare to be angry." When you gave birth, I watched over you all night, so don't you have anything to say to me? Qingcheng's heart moved, and he couldn't bear to look at him, looking at the bright yellow belt around his waist, and said sharply: "There's nothing to say." The emperor faded his smile, his face turned pale, and he said coldly: "There is really nothing to say? ”

Qingcheng pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "Yes." ”

The emperor's expression changed suddenly, he turned around slowly, a chill appeared in his eyes, and said, "Even so, I have nothing to say. "Let's get out. Through the curtain, he stood for a moment, sighed softly, and walked away. Qingcheng knew that he was gone, and walked to the curtain a few times, and couldn't help but want to lift the curtain, but when his hand was raised in the air, he heard Wu Shulai shouting under the corridor: "Get up!" Her heart sank, as if she had lost something extremely important, and her mind was empty, as if she had lost it.

Hai An took the tea into the house and said, "Master, why are you so troubled?" Qingcheng sat on the rattan chair, stunned for a while, and said, "Collect all the pen and ink." Hai'an responded, cleaned up the case quickly, and said: "The slave maid heard Jing Tao say that in the period before the master's birth, although the emperor did not come to our Yikun Palace, he had to summon Jing Tao to ask questions every two days, and I heard that the master had a bad appetite, and asked Jing Tao to make you some snacks from Suzhou and Hangzhou. Qingcheng listened quietly, there was not much look on her face, Hai'an only thought that she was still sad about the third elder brother being taken away by the nurse, so she didn't say anything, for fear of causing her to mourn.

The emperor was so angry that his liver was furious, and there were blisters at the corners of his mouth, and Wu Shulai said: "Master, do you want to invite the imperial doctor to come over and take two medicinal teas." The emperor practiced calligraphy, just now in Yikun Palace, he saw Qingcheng copying Su Shi's small letters, neat and beautiful words, but also a little stubborn. Back at the Heart Cultivation Palace, he swept the bookshelf and unconsciously picked Su Shi's poems to write, but really, there was no way to use her. The emperor said sullenly: "No need, make two pots of chrysanthemum tea." ”

Wu Shulai promised to go out and order, and when he entered the hall again, the emperor had ordered someone to collect the rice paper, and sat in front of the Qingyu case with a normal face, as if nothing had happened just now. But Wu Shulai knew in his heart that the emperor and the pure concubine were still making trouble. He couldn't help but secretly wonder what kind of ambition leopard guts this pure concubine had eaten, the emperor had coaxed her so lowly, she dared not know what to do, and she was not grateful at all.

It rained a little bit in the morning, and the green moss grew in the cracks of the stones, like dyeing, sandwiched in the yellow tiles of the vermilion wall, verdant and dripping. Concubine Lu was so bored that she went to the queen's palace to ask for peace, and went to the imperial garden to enjoy the shade and flowers. It was almost noon, and the sun was getting hotter and hotter, and she was about to turn back to the dormitory, and walk to a secluded place, when suddenly a person came out from behind the rockery, and she was so frightened that she almost screamed. But the man knelt on the ground and said, "Master Lu is blessed." ”

Concubine Lu took a look and recognized that the person was Lin Caiyou, so she said contemptuously: "Get up." Cai You replied "yes", and got up tremblingly. Lu Concubine saw that she seemed to have inconvenience on her feet, and asked casually, "What's wrong with your feet?" ”

Cai You's eyes flashed with resentment, and he said: "When I went back to Yikun Palace to speak, the emperor rewarded him with twenty rods, and his left leg was not very good." She was very understated, as if she were not talking about herself, but about irrelevant people. Concubine Lu was too lazy to take care of her, and wanted to walk around her, but Cai You suddenly said: "Master Lu wants to know who is the person who has an affair with the pure concubine?" Thinking about the premature birth of the third elder brother, there are also many suspicious things, if Master Lu tells the queen about it, he will definitely be reused by the queen after he thinks about it. ”

Concubine Lu was so shocked that she almost bit her tongue, swallowed her throat and said: "What nonsense are you talking about, let people hear it carefully, accuse you of slander, and your life will be gone." Cai You smiled coldly and said, "What else is there to be afraid of the slave maid, it's just that I hate the pure concubine too much and can't take a breath." If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been snubbed by the emperor, and if it weren't for her, my leg wouldn't have died. She knocked her head on the ground three times, and said: "The slave hates the pure concubine to death in her heart, I only hope that Master Lu can help me, the pure concubine falls out of favor, for you, there is no harm in it!" ”