When Zhao Rui woke up, it was already dark.

His body was already weak, and because he braved the scorching sun for half an hour the day before yesterday, he entered the Renming Palace, this inner hall is okay, but the outer hall is too much ice, so cold and hot, and then he was shocked by Zhao Dai's illness, and fainted when he landed.

After all, in the face of the Son of Heaven, the imperial doctors did not dare to specialize, nor did they dare to use such drastic methods as usual, so they had to slowly figure it out. At this time, when people woke up, everyone hurriedly took the pulse and took the needle.

Zhao Rui opened his eyes, only to feel that the bed tent above his head was shaking, and the flowers in front of him were so powerful that for a while, he didn't know where he was.

He slowed down for a while, and then slowly remembered the things during the day, and turned his head to look, sure enough, it was still in Renming Palace, a few steps away, he had never seen Queen Yang, and he no longer saw his only son, only a group of imperial doctors surrounded, and Wang Yi stood in the front, and Huang Zhaoliang, Guo Shizhong, Fan Yaochen and others stood according to their shifts, surrounding the bed.

Looking further away, there was another Queen Mother sitting opposite with a calm face.

As soon as his eyes opened, he started with Wang Yi, and the more than ten old ministers behind him all showed surprised looks on their faces, and saluted and shouted, "Your Majesty! ”

Zhao Rui reluctantly raised his hand, exempted everyone from salutation, and called out to the Empress Dowager Zhang in the distance.

"The emperor is awake?"

Empress Dowager Zhang answered, and asked again, her tone was light, there was no surprise, and there was no taste of relief.

Zhao Rui struggled to get up.

Only then did Empress Dowager Zhang stand up, take a few steps forward, and press her son and said, "Your Majesty, rest, your dragon body has not healed, don't move more." ”

I asked a few more questions from the imperial doctors next to me.

Zhao Rui was lying on the bed, dizzy, and he still had something to ask, but Huangmen had already come up with a medicine bowl and waited for him to drink.

He just got the medicine into his stomach, and as soon as he lay back in bed, his mind became more and more groggy, and he wanted to ask more about his son's situation, so he opened his mouth, as if he had spoken, and as if he hadn't spoken, he tilted his head and fell asleep.

Seeing that the people had fallen asleep, the courtiers led by Wang Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Empress Dowager Zhang asked the imperial doctor clearly, and then turned her head to Wang Yi and Guo Shizhong and asked, "Wang Xianggong, Guo Shumi, it's not early, how to arrange the book tonight?" ”

Wang Yi turned his head to look at Guo Shizhong, and saw that the other party did not respond, so he turned his head and replied, "Since Your Majesty is no longer in trouble, I might as well ...... later."

He was only halfway through his words, when Huang Zhaoliang felt that something was wrong, and hurriedly interjected: "Since the two mansions are left behind in shifts to guard the palace ban!" ”

The Son of Heaven has not recovered from his illness, the prince Zhao has died, the queen has fallen ill, the three kings and the four kings are all in the palace, and the Empress Dowager Zhang is on the side, in this case, who dares to leave Zhao Rui alone in Renming Palace!

Especially this queen mother, she has never been a fuel-efficient lamp!

From ancient times to the present, there have been so many changes from the harem that there can't be more.

For two rooms and a few taels of silver, the people can attract brothers to the wall, not to mention the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains.

The heavenly family has never been selfish, and at this time, someone from the two mansions naturally has to stay in the forbidden palace, lest they get up early tomorrow morning, the people on the bed are breathless, and the dragon chair suddenly has to be replaced.

Huang Zhaoliang's words fell, and Fan Yaochen, Guo Shizhong, and Sun Bian immediately said in unison: "The minister seconded the proposal!" ”

The rest of the courtiers all said yes.

Wang Yi was a little annoyed in his heart.

- When I want to come out, none of them will make a sound, but at this time, everyone will be a person!

He spoke up: "In that case, who is on duty today?" ”

All the officials who said they wanted to stay behind stopped talking.

Stay is to stay, but who knows when the Son of Heaven will wake up, if he has not had time to hand over the shift, he will be asked about the little prince Zhao's office, who will say that bad news?

Who wants to be the one who tells the Son of Heaven that his only son is dead?

***

After a while, you gave in, but in the end, Wang Yi and the deputy envoy of the Privy Council stayed in the Forbidden Palace.

Nearly ten important ministers left the palace, each with dozens of honor guards and servants from the royal street, but all those who had some ears and eyes were in their eyes.

Li Chengwei of Junyi Bridge Workshop received the news almost immediately.

His people were waiting outside Donghua Gate and Panlou Street, but they didn't hear anything useful - this time, there was no letter in the palace at all.

Li Chengwei was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

What is the situation in the palace, and what does he have to do?

If there is no news, something must have happened.

However, the important ministers of the two governments came out of the night, indicating that the matter was not the biggest one, otherwise everyone would only stay in the palace together.

He is no longer young, and he is not as old as when he was young, and he is sitting in the study at this time, brewing a pot of strong tea with more leaves and less water in front of him, hanging his spirit and not falling asleep, waiting for the person sent out to reply.

When he was about to go ugly, all the people he sent out finally returned.

Li Chengwei had a piece of paper on his desk, on which were written the names of all the ministers of the two prefectures, and when he heard someone say one, he circled that name.

In the end, only two clean names remained.

Wang Yi, Zhu Ji.

When the head of the court is the same as the privy deputy.

can work these two people who stay in the forbidden palace, something must have happened to the Son of Heaven.

Could it be that the real dragon is sick?

I have been sick so many times before, but I will not summon the important ministers of the two provinces into the forbidden palace!

Could it be that this time he was about to step into the coffin?

Li Chengwei summoned the people who went to listen to the news one by one, and asked many questions carefully, but he still couldn't confirm it.

He clicked on the officials he knew well, and he was a little disappointed.

- The foundation is still too shallow!

On weekdays, those officials and high titles who deal with him either have a false position behind their backs, which is useless, or they don't take him seriously, and it may not be difficult to be perfunctory on the face, but once they want to inquire about such palace secrets, they really know what the inside story is, and how they will tell a merchant in their own house!

Besides, this kind of thing can only be inquired about in Zaifu, who will spread it!

He pondered in his mind for a long time, and only came up with two names.

- It's not that there are no people who don't recognize Zaifu, it's just that they have to go around in a circle.

He has two on hand, one surnamed Chen and the other surnamed He, both of which can be sidelined. I just don't know if I can use the upper force, and how much force I can use.

Li Chengwei thought about it carefully, after all, the one behind him was far away and couldn't catch it, but the one in front had already sat firmly.

He rang the bell, called his cronies in, and gave him a few words.

***

Early the next morning, the subordinates of the Sun Mansion bolted the back door, and before half of the door could be fully opened, they saw a woman standing outside, carrying a large basket on her arm and a basket on her back, which was covered with a thin layer of fine gauze.

Everyone in Beijing loves flower arrangement, although it is not spring at this time, it is not the season of flowers, but summer also has its own flowers that are suitable for the time, walking in the streets and alleys, you can always meet women and ladies with flower baskets on their backs. In order not to wilt the flowers in the sun, the people usually covered them with a thin white cloth.

When the porter saw the woman with the basket on her back outside, she looked a little unpleasant.

This lintel is to participate in the governor's affairs, a huge mansion, since there is a flower shop that is sent into the door every day, and it is not good to do business with this scattered small merchant and hawker outside, but there are vendors blocking the door, so that outsiders can see it, and it is not very good.

But before he could open his mouth to drive away, the woman hurriedly said, "Big brother, can you enter the mansion now?" Is there a Chen lady in the house? The day before yesterday, she asked me to bring flowers into the house early in the morning. ”

The porter heard the three words "Mrs. Chen", and the words she originally wanted to say turned the tip of her tongue, and swallowed it back again, but she opened her mouth and asked, "Which Mrs. Chen?" ”

The woman replied, "Lady Hui, I gave birth to the one who gave birth to the child!" ”

And he said, "She and I have known each other, and she used to buy flowers from me, but because she said that there was a strong smell in the house, or because she was accustomed to planting flowers in my place, she asked me to send some today." ”

As he spoke, he lifted the basket in his hand, and sure enough, a few beautiful golden lanterns, sunflowers, and pomegranate flowers were revealed.

The porter looked down and saw the type of flowers, and couldn't help but feel disgusted, turned his head and called a person, and said, "Go inside and ask the south wing, if you called someone from outside to send flowers in." ”

Then he turned back to the woman and asked, "Where are you?" ”

The woman hurriedly reported her name.

After a short time, the person who went in to pass the ceremony came out and asked, "Is it the Sang family's tile?" ”

The woman nodded again and again, and said, "My surname is Xu, and Hui Niangzi used to call me Xu Siniang." ”

The man checked it out, nodded to the porter, and then called a rough girl to bring the person into the house to find the lady Ru.

When the winner was far away, the two porters began to gossip.

The first one only smiled and said: "Sure enough, he was born in Wazifang City, and that vision is ...... I can't hold it on the table. ”

The person behind him also laughed: "It's not good, only the old man likes it, what countertops do you want!" ”

As he spoke, he asked, "What kind of flowers are you giving?" The house is looking for a good Friday flower shop, what good flowers are not, how can Baba call an old man to send in? Is this because she is afraid that others will not know her poor background? ”

The man in front of him sneered, "What kind of flower do you think?" In addition to the golden lamp, it is sunflowers, pomegranate flowers, and I don't know where the poor sour comes from, these things, the house is really embarrassed to ask for - that is, there is a lot of money in the market, all of them have hairpin ideas white gardenia, white jasmine, and only this one, I used to be poor and afraid, and now I have entered the house, and I still have the same eyesight as before, with her appearance, I don't know if I can fight for those ladies in the house! ”

The two of them stood at the door, and talked about the new Chen Niangzi as an introduction, and gossiped for a long time.

It turns out that the surname of this family is Sun, which is the mansion of Sun Bian, the governor of the current government, and the old man in the house is called Sun Ning, and everyone knows that it has never been reliable, and in the first few months, he was inexplicably rushed into a room of concubines, surnamed Chen, called Chen Huiniang.

The capital is so big, it's easy to inquire about everything, especially in the back house of the Sun Mansion is not simple, the old man has seven or eight concubines, none of them eat dry food, everyone has clairvoyance, and has ears for the wind. The old lady left early, no one was easy to take care of, there was only one lady, and she was still a senior, and it was not easy to meddle in her father-in-law's backyard.

Not long after, I don't know who to beat the news I heard, and the people in the house faintly spread, saying that the new Hui Niangzi is very rare, but the wine lady who sells wine in the Sangjia tile, married once in the past, and then went to sell wine in the Zhangjiayuanzi, no matter where it is, there are many perennial customers who enter and leave the house, and that door is ushered in, I don't know how many guests have been in and out.

The secret words in the back of the people have not been finished, the Hui Niangzi entered the door for a few months, the melon is ripe, and a child with a handle fell from the stomach, and the old man in the house is so happy that he can't see his teeth and eyes, and he has been walking for a long time, and his legs are windy when he walks, and he has to look at the bronze mirror from time to time to see if his hair has returned to black, and whether his teeth have come back.

gave birth to a little son, Sun Ning didn't even go out of the door, in the past, he loved to go to the Qinglou Song House, the wine shop tiles, and went out to wander with those old men who were eating and waiting to die, and today he is teasing his little son who was born at home.

It was easy to get out of the door, but before he went far, he was sent a letter by this new concubine, not that the little brother was crying badly, or that the little brother seemed to have a hot head, and the old man was so bluffed that he didn't eat the banquet, didn't listen to the play, and didn't appreciate the song, so he hurriedly came back to coax his son, and he was simply caught up by this new concubine.

The two were talking about it, and they couldn't help but sigh for a while.

One said: "Fortunately, the official is a reliable one, and the family depends on him, if it is given to the old man, I am afraid that the family will be ruined now!" ”

Another person said: "If Mrs. Chen has a little calculation, she should find a way to hold Mrs. Niang's leg tightly, relying on the old man, I don't know how many years it will be, and it will be ...... in the future Don't you have to be the old lady to help you call the shots? There are so many brothers in the left and right families, helping one is helping, helping two is also helping, not bad for this bite of food, but if it is ugly now, if it is disgusted by officials, who knows if they will be willing to take a hand in the future! ”

The person in front smiled: "You are still laughing at people and small households, look at you small households!" What is the stomach of the officials, what is the amount of our stomach! Where will he put these little things in his eyes, depending on who you are, even if the old man accepts a hundred concubines and gives birth to a hundred brothers, he will only look at them as brothers. ”

He paused for a moment, and then said: "Help you to see the feelings, whether you can help you up, and see if you can endure - although our family officials are not big ginseng, in the end they are also involved in politics, do you think that he is like a villager in the township, one by one to fight for the two acres of land, or the businessman who has no eyesight, when fighting for the family property, what is the first mother to give birth to, and the second concubine to give birth?" ”

He said, waved his hand again, and said, "No such thing! Do you see where in the big family are what you gave birth to and I gave birth to? After all, it's a brother, take it and use it first, such a coolie who doesn't need money, where do you find it? I can't find it with a lantern! The family is so fine, and there is no right-hand man, how can he be an official? Look at your little family! ”

The two were talking, but they heard the sound of footsteps behind them, turned around and looked, it was the woman who had just gone in and sold flowers and came out again with a basket, and the pace was very fast, as if hiding from a ghost.