The sky was shining, Wu Shulai tiptoed into the dormitory, stood outside the curtain, and before he could open his mouth to call, the emperor had turned over and sat down, and asked, "What time is it?" Wu Shulai said: "It's two o'clock." The emperor picked up the light gauze tent and said, "Why is it late today?" Wu Shulai knelt on the pedal and waited for the emperor to put on his shoes, and said: "The slave saw that the master slept late yesterday, and he was a little late for a quarter of an hour. ”

The queen got out of bed and waited for the emperor to wash and dress. The emperor hurriedly rinsed his mouth with green salt, ate two pieces of lotus root flour osmanthus cake with almond tea, and then drove to the south study to study. The queen was already awake, and Shanrou asked: "Master, breakfast is not yet an hour, if you want to eat something, the slave and maid let the cook prepare it." The queen saw that there were four or five pieces of the emperor's unfinished snacks on the begonia fancy carved lacquer and gold-filled plate on the table, and said: "There is no need to prepare anything else, just serve a cup of sugar steamed cheese." ”

Shanrou agreed, and within a moment, she hurried inside and said, "Master! Seeing that she was panicked, the queen frowned slightly, and reprimanded: "Shouting and screaming, what kind of system!" Shanrou hurriedly eased her face and said in a low voice: "Just now, the people from the Internal Affairs Office secretly came to spread the word, saying that the palace maid who pushed the pure master last time was recruited!" ”

The queen showed a cold face and said, "Who is it?" ”

Shanrou was a little at a loss, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The palace maid said, yes... You did it! The queen was furious when she heard this, but she quickly restrained her expression, sat upright as usual, and said, "What does the Internal Affairs Office plan to do?" Shanrou saw that the queen was calm, and her mood calmed down a little, and said: "This matter is investigated by the emperor himself, Wang Jinbao does not dare to slack off, and has already gone to the south study to report." After a pause, he said anxiously: "Master, what should we do?" ”

The queen raised her hand and motioned for Shanrou to keep her mouth shut. The room was silent, her face was reflected in the yellow gauze lamp, illuminated palely, her eyes were round, overflowing with terrifying coldness, and after a long while, she said: "I thought that who hated Concubine Jia and Yu Guiren was pregnant, and I didn't think too much about it, but now I see that it is the drunkard who does not mean to drink." He snorted coldly and said, "Since it took a lot of effort, if I don't make a lot of noise, wouldn't I be in the right place?" Let's just eat and drink and wait, we don't know anything, the emperor will naturally find out. Shanrou was worried, and wanted to persuade a few words, but saw that the queen had picked up the lotus root flour osmanthus cake and took a bite, and her calm appearance seemed to be very sure, and her heart was slightly relieved.

is getting higher and higher, and Jingren Palace is still silent. Concubine Xian gave birth since she was a child, and she fell into the root of back pain. When I returned to the dormitory last night, I was a little windy, and I couldn't even move when I lay on the couch in the morning, so I asked Luo Qing to go to Shoukang Palace to take leave. The Queen Mother was distressed, and specially summoned the elderly lady doctor of Shoukang Palace to come for diagnosis and treatment. The imperial doctor gave her an injection and prescribed two more patches before retiring. Luo Qing put a small kang table of vermilion lacquer plum blossoms on the bed, presented ginseng soup, and said: "This is appreciated by Lafayette, the imperial doctor said that it is very nourishing, and the master has to drink it." ”

Concubine Xian pursed her lips and smiled, "I eat these every day, and I have to make up for my nosebleed." She pinched the celadon peony painted spoon and scooped it spoonful, but she didn't eat it.

Luo Qing looked at her face, withdrew from everyone, and asked in a low voice, "The master is worried about Caixia?" ”

Concubine Xian said: "In the end, she was a person from Changchun Palace, not to mention whether she can survive the punishment or not, I can't always worry about her." ”

Luo Qing said firmly: "Although the master is relieved, she is my fellow who entered the palace together, and she is the most honest, and she only wants to go out of the palace in her eyes." You promised her to reward her out of the palace during the New Year, and said that you would reward her with two hundred taels of silver, although she is a Guerjia clan, her family has long been in decline, and she is counting on these two hundred taels of silver to go out of the palace to live, and she will not dare to talk nonsense. ”

Concubine Xian's face was still gentle and kind, although Luo Qing had been with her for several years, she couldn't guess what she was thinking. Just like right now, the palace takes the pure master as a thorn in her side, but she doesn't pay attention to it. Caixia, who bought Changchun Palace in front, thought that she didn't want Concubine Jia and Yu Guiren to give birth to a dragon heir, but unexpectedly, what she really wanted to deal with was the queen's mother.

The emperor dispersed, and when he heard Wang Jinbao's announcement, he picked up the peony and white jade cup on the case, and smashed it to the ground. The palace people who were waiting inside and outside the house all knelt on the ground, holding their breath and holding their breath, even having to endure the itch. When Wu Shulai bumped into Wang Jinbao in the south study, he knew that something bad was bound to happen, and he thought that only one person could persuade him to be angry, so he sent someone to Yikun Palace to find Qingcheng, and he didn't say anything about it, but only said vaguely: "Pure master, Gonggong Wu in front of the emperor asks you to go to the Palace of Nourishing Hearts." ”

Although Qingcheng didn't know where to go, Wu Shulai actually sent someone with a blank eye, which was naturally not trivial, so he put on makeup, sat on the sedan chair and peeled a small cup of fresh lotus seeds, and waited at the bottom of the stairs with a smile. The little eunuch spread by the window and said, "Long live Lord, the pure master is here." The emperor's face was clouded, so dull that everyone panicked, and said, "Let her in." ”

When Wu Shulai heard that Qingcheng was coming, he was overjoyed and secretly said: I am finally saved today. Qingcheng entered the hall, and saw that the black pressure was full of people, she glanced at Wu Shulai, but Wu Shulai didn't even dare to raise his head, just knelt. Qingcheng bent his knees and asked for peace, wrapped the peeled lotus seed meat in plain silk yarn and handed it to the emperor, saying, "The emperor eats some lotus seeds to dissipate the anger." ”

The emperor refused to speak, pursed his lips tightly, and ignored her. Qingcheng became more and more cautious, with a little anger, and said: "Look at my fingers, my nails are about to break in order to peel lotus seeds." The emperor glanced at her and said, "Let the minions do such a trivial matter, what are you doing to make a fuss." ”

Hearing him speak, Qingcheng breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and said, "I'm afraid that they won't be clean." He pinched a green and yellow lotus seed, handed it to his lips, and said, "You taste fresh or not." The emperor didn't bend her will, he took a bite of it, and suddenly his mouth was full of bitter juice, and he wanted to spit it out immediately, he forced himself to maintain his majesty, and waved his hand again and again to let everyone retreat, and when there were only two people left in the hall, Fang wrinkled his face and said: "How can it be like this?" More bitter than lotus seed tea! ”

Qingcheng said: "You have to be bitter to quench the fire!" She tilted her head to look at him and said with a smile: "What caused the emperor to be so angry?" But it frightened the people below. ”

The emperor said with a gloomy face: "What, you still came to rescue them?" Qingcheng felt a trace of panic in his heart, and said in a low voice: "I don't want to be a rescue soldier for them, but I don't want the emperor to hurt the Holy Body because of anger." The emperor saw that her face was timid, and Chu Chu's pitiful appearance was really distressing, so he couldn't bear to be angry at her, stretched his brows, and said, "Okay, okay, I'm not angry." He teased her again: "I'm afraid that the lotus seeds you peel can be used as medicine, and they are so bitter that my teeth are about to fall out." ”

Qingcheng saw that his face was dark, and he became a lot more casual, and said: "It has to be bitter to have a medicinal effect, look at you, just eat one pill, and most of the anger will be eliminated." When the emperor heard this, it was really like that, and he couldn't help but laugh loudly: "It's really a quibble." ”

Wu Shulai stood quietly outside, hearing the emperor's laughter in his ears, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Jing Tao took the tea and was about to enter the house, but he hurriedly waved his hand to stop him, and whispered: "Don't go in, wait until the anger of the Long Live Lord is all gone, and then it will not be too late to serve tea." Jing Tao has been in the tea room, and I only vaguely heard that the palace maid reported the queen, and I don't know if it's true or not, looking at the formation, it's weird and scary. She pulled Wu Shulai to a secluded place to inquire carefully, and Wu Shulai also said it from beginning to end.

Jing Tao bowed his head and said: "In this way, the emperor treats the pure master, but he is sincere." ”

Wu Shulai smiled coldly and said, "Really? Isn't it true to treat the master of the high when you are in the dive mansion? Wasn't it true to treat the master in the first two years? Long live Lord is not a mortal, and there are as many beauties as there are in the harem. Wholehearted?! In my opinion, it will be two years before we can decide. After a pause, he said: "But then again, after all, the pure master has a child, and he has more chips than those two." Jing Tao stretched out his finger and poked him on the forehead, and said, "You eunuch, where do you know what sincerity is!" With that, he turned around and left directly, leaving Wu Shulai alone behind, so angry that the roots of his teeth itched.

Qingcheng sat sideways behind the emperor and quietly pressed his temples for him. The emperor suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Last time, among the four palace maids you identified in Changchun Palace, there was a confession named Caixia. Qingcheng didn't seem to hear it, his hand moved, and he only let out a faint "oh" in his mouth.

The Emperor was extremely curious by her attitude, and asked, "Don't you care at all?" ”

Qingcheng said nonchalantly: "You said that with you protecting me, no one dares to touch me at all." The Emperor grabbed her hand and stared at her in reflexive amazement. She continued: "Anyway, if there is anything, it is up to you to deal with it, there is an emperor and queen in the palace, no matter how big or small, even if I care, what can I do?" It's not my turn to call the shots. It's better to think of a few delicious dim sums every day and tell the kitchen to make them. ”

The emperor originally had a word, for example, although Caixia identified the empress, but she could not fully believe it. For example, someone wanted to use her hand behind her back to harm Concubine Jia and Yu Guiren, and wanted to tell her to be careful in the future. For another example, he also wanted to tell her that in fact, that person not only wanted to harm the dragon heir, but more importantly, to frame the queen. Of course, on the other hand, it is also possible that it is really the queen's careful planning, in short, everything needs to be traced down... And so on... But in the face of the clear spring water like a mountain stream, she didn't know how to speak. He grabbed her hand and hesitated for a while, and finally just sighed and said, "Forget it, it doesn't involve you anyway, and if you say it, it will make you worry in vain." ”

After Qingcheng left, the emperor announced that Wang Jinbao entered the palace and said, "Tie up Caixia, I will interrogate it personally." ”

As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival passes, the weather suddenly reveals the color of twilight, and in the evening, it is even more cold and bleak, and the fallen leaves are withered. Qingcheng put on a small orange flower with a moon white seal on the palace robe, burned incense with his hands, and stood under the window of the east house to practice painting. Erqi came in from under the porch, curtsied at the door, and said kindly: "Master, what snacks do you want to eat at night?" ”

Qingcheng's pen is non-stop, still horizontal and vertical, and sighs softly: "I have to think about it every day, it's really annoying, let the cook watch it." Er Qi said with a smile: "Huang Er in the kitchen said that the pastries that the master thinks of are rare and exquisite, and even the emperor loves to eat them, but now he doesn't dare to make his own decisions." Qingcheng put down his pen and instructed the palace people who served the painting, saying, "Take it." Then he said to Erqi: "Don't listen to his nonsense, it's just that I'm afraid that what I do is not what I want, and you will scold him." ”

Before someone from the palace outside brought warm water, Er Qi twisted a towel and asked Qingcheng to wipe his hands, and said with a smile: "Master, you just spare him, he is an honest countryman, where dare to figure out your mind, only dare to be obedient and lead the order to make meals." ”

There is also a small waiter carrying a wax skewer tiptoeing into the house to hold the lamp, the twilight is misty, look out of the window, dim and cold, there is a bit of early winter scene. The palace lights between the beautiful eaves of the corridor gradually lit up, and the palace people in the courtyard walked quickly, and the night breeze blew their skirts and fluttered.

Qingcheng said: "August and September are good times to eat artemisia, stir-fry with gluten, and add some shredded chicken, it must be good." Just don't put aside more oil and water, it's good to be refreshing. Er Qi responded, and said with a smile: "It's still the master's good idea." Qingcheng glanced at her and said, "It's your sweet mouth." After a pause, he continued: "Cook two bowls of thin porridge with rouge rice, mix some sesame oil sauce and vinegar with green bamboo shoots, seaweed and spiced cabbage, and that's it." ”

Erqi promised to go to the kitchen and talked carefully to Huang Er, Huang Er wrote it down with his heart, and secretly praised it. At night, Qingcheng asked the kitchen to set up a meal, and only after two bites, he heard someone under the corridor: "Master, long live the lord is here." Before she could get up to greet her, the emperor had already lifted the curtain and entered the room, and he circled around the dining table, and said dissatisfiedly: "You don't allow me to eat meat at night, but you secretly eat here deliciously." Qingcheng blessed his body, looked at him and smiled, and said, "Have you used a late snack?" If not, eat some more with me? ”

The emperor said: "I am talking properly, you are good, you will make a mistake." So saying, he sat down across from her. Qingcheng glanced at Wu Shulai, and when he saw Wu Shulai shaking his head gently, he ordered someone to take a bowl of chopsticks, personally filled half a bowl of reed gluten, and said with a smile: "The emperor will taste it first, and see if it suits the taste." The emperor pointed to a few strands of meat in the bowl and said, "There is meat." ”

Qingcheng secretly glared at him twice, and said, "If the reed gluten is not fried with meat, it will not be fragrant." Besides, I told you not to eat meat at night, and I didn't say that I don't eat meat myself. The Emperor smiled dumbly and said, "You mean, there is no preparation for me?" I'm here to beg for food. Qingcheng said aggrievedly: "I thought you wouldn't come today." ”

The emperor raised his eyes and saw that there was a human-like tall rosewood frame plain white peony lamp beside her, and the bright light was faintly spread on her face, like a thin and hazy mist. He couldn't help laughing and said, "If you dare not prepare my meal, I will definitely take care of you after a while." Qingcheng heard the meaning of his words, and glanced at him again, so ashamed that the roots of his ears and neck were red.

After eating, Qingcheng sat on the small pestle and waited for the emperor to soak the dragon's feet, the lights were shining, and the emperor leaned on the kang table with his forehead, his eyebrows were slightly frowned, and he seemed to have unspeakable sorrow. From the moment he entered the door, although he had been smiling gently, Qingcheng had already seen that he had something to worry about. After cleaning his feet, the emperor sat cross-legged on the kang to read, Qingcheng sat opposite him, stared for a moment, and reached out to close the book "pop".

The Emperor looked up at her in bewilderment. Qingcheng nagged: "Since the emperor is upset, he should take a good rest, and he has not stopped reading, going to court, and criticizing all day long, and no one can bear it." ”

She put her palm on his cheek, rubbed it softly, and said, "Can't you go to bed earlier today?" ”

The emperor suddenly spoke, "Do you know who Caixia has identified? ”

He is an emperor, he has a lot of words, and he never tells anyone, and no one can say it. On such a night, his heart was turned into a pool of blue water by her. Qingcheng didn't reply, just looked at him quietly and listened. The Emperor continued: "She actually identified the Empress!" Qingcheng was shocked when he heard this, and said in surprise: "How could it be..."

The emperor said in a deep voice: "I didn't believe it at first, so I wanted to interrogate Caixia in person, but before she could face the saint, she was poisoned, and someone in the palace dared to blatantly poison the criminal maid I wanted to try in person, which is really hateful!" ”

Qingcheng saw that his face was hideous, and he clenched his palms, so he got up and sat next to him, and said: "This matter is not hanging, as soon as it dawns tomorrow, it will spread throughout the entire harem, and even to the previous dynasty, which will definitely damage the queen's reputation." The emperor and queen are one, and the queen's face is the emperor's face. She slowly ripped his fist open, drawing soft circles with her fingertips on his palms.

The emperor relaxed a little and said, "If you can instruct the palace people in Changchun Palace to murder your heirs and kill the sinners under my nose, if you want to uproot them, I'm afraid it will alarm the imperial court." After a pause, he said bitterly: "They are usually jealous and jealous, and I can ignore petty fights, but now they dare to deceive me, and I am helpless." There was a hint of indignation in his eyes, and the corners of his lips were pursed, and he was full of majesty.

Qingcheng said with relief: "The emperor is the lord of the world, for the sake of the overall situation, he is a saint." ”

The Emperor leaned sideways on her shoulder and almost murmured, "The Empress is my wife, what should I do with her?" Qingcheng wrapped his arms around his waist and said, "Why doesn't the emperor believe in the queen?" The emperor said: "Although Caixia's oral testimony cannot be fully believed, the queen still can't get out of it." After a brief pause, he said, "I naturally want to trust her." ”

Qingcheng said indifferently: "Since the emperor wants to trust the queen, it is better to trust it once." If you have any doubts in your heart, just call the queen and ask them directly. The emperor closed his eyes in her arms, fumbled and pinched her cheek, and sneered: "Where is it as easy as you say." Having said that, the emperor went to Changchun Palace early the next morning to sit for a while.

The queen was having breakfast, and when she heard the palace people reply, she thought she had heard it wrong, and the emperor had never accompanied her to breakfast. The emperor wore a bright yellow dragon pattern court dress and a tasseled crown on his head, and walked in the morning light. The queen's heart chuckled, thinking that it must be for Caixia's confession, so she pretended to be silent and knelt on the platform to greet her.

The emperor sat down on the kang and waved his hand away. The queen glanced at the emperor, and when she saw that his face was colorless, she was so frightened that she was terrified. The emperor looked at a small cup with white jade lotus petals on the dining table for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "Have you heard about Caixia?" ”

The queen didn't dare to hide it, and said, "The concubine heard about it." ”

The emperor paused for a moment before he said, "Did you instruct it?" The queen was shocked when she heard this, and her whole body went limp, and she fell to the ground on her knees. She knelt in a daze, her thoughts rolled, her expression was fixed, and she said: "Why did Caixia falsely accuse the concubine, and who instructed her, the concubine really doesn't know at all." Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if Concubine Jia and Yu Gui give birth to a prince, they must call the concubine the emperor's mother, and they are also the children of the concubine, why do the concubines want to harm them? Besides, even if the concubines want to harm them, why don't they find a secluded place and leave themselves clean? Although the concubine is dull, she is not stupid, the concubine is the emperor's wife, and the emperor's heir is the heir of the concubine. The concubines have always been diligent, abide by women's morality, and swear to be an example of the Qing Dynasty! He kowtowed again and said: "Caixia's blood mouth is spurting, the concubine is really wronged, please let the emperor know." ”

Her words, the emperor had long expected. It is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, but this matter cannot be investigated any further. He got up, a smile pursed from the corner of his lips, stretched out his hand to her, and said, "Don't feel wronged, I believe in you, so I came to ask you directly." If you say you didn't do it, I believe you didn't do it. ”

After listening to the emperor's words, the queen was emotionally unbearable, and a warm current overflowed from the bottom of her heart, only to feel comfortable and comfortable all over her body, she put her hand into his palm, couldn't help but tears, and choked up: "Thank the emperor for trust." ”

The emperor gently put his arm around her shoulder and said, "It's time to go to court, and I'll come to see you another day." The queen hurriedly wiped her tears, sent the emperor to Changchun Gate, and when the holy car turned into the Yongdao and disappeared, she turned around and returned to the palace.

The white sun rose, the sky was gray, and it was estimated that an autumn rain would fall sooner or later. The breakfast was already cold, and Shanrou asked, "Master, do you want to heat up the dishes?" Where did the queen still have an appetite, she seemed to have lost all the strength in her body, sat down in the rattan chair, waved her hand and said, "Withdraw it." ”

Shanrou saw that her face was not good, so she didn't dare to ask more, so she ordered the palace people to clean up the dining table. For a while, a palace person from the Internal Affairs Office quietly came to speak, saying: "The emperor doesn't believe Caixia's words, saying that she slandered the queen and has given her rice wine." The grace of the saint is vast, and the emperor Nian Caixia was young, so he gave the whole corpse and no longer pursued her family. Shanrou said happily: "The emperor takes care of the master in the end, everything is considered for you, if anyone in the palace wants to take advantage of this to make waves, I am afraid that I have to weigh it first." ”

I don't know why, but the queen is faintly worried, and she can't say why, but she feels that although the emperor believes her on the surface and no longer investigates the matter, but secretly, what he is thinking, she has no clue. In the end, this matter is still not clear, and the emperor will inevitably have doubts in his heart.

And this doubt may swell one day.