The sky was slightly bright, and Mo Lan got up early as usual, washed his face and teeth, tied his hair in a bun, and changed into palace clothes. Zifei came to see her before the duty, and his eyes were red and said, "You went to the tea service, don't forget me." ”

Mo Lan took out two pairs of insoles embroidered with mandarin duck playing patterns from the cabinet and handed them to her, and said reluctantly: "Although we are in the palace, we can't see each other every day like before." I keep in my heart all the kindness you have done to me. As he spoke, he leaned into Zifei's ear and whispered: "If one day, Lord Liu asks the Queen Mother for you to leave the palace, you must remember to know me, and I will make you a mandarin duck pillow when the time comes." ”

When Zifei heard this, his expression was lonely, not as refreshing and free as usual, and he smiled reluctantly: "If I can go out of the palace, no matter who I marry, you can help me make a pillow." Seeing that it was getting late, he reluctantly said goodbye: "Now that Qi'er is gone, everything in the hall is decided by Jinrou, and it is getting busier and busier." Moran didn't leave her either, watching her twist her fat waist and go out of the courtyard gate before going back to the house to pack her baggage.

When he was demoted from the tea department to the division of the department, he only brought a small bag of clothes, but now when he goes back, it is two large boxes of things. There are purses, tassels, shoes and socks sent by Langyue and Xia Zhi, as well as rouge, bronze mirrors, fans, etc., which Zifei Tuo Liu brought back from Guang to the palace, as well as the handkerchiefs sent by Zhao Zhen and the brocade box given by Aunt Qing. She sat under the window and collected everything, looked and looked, and was reluctant to throw away each of them, all of them were beloved things.

After the hour, the sky actually rained in the spring, finely broken, and the distant Daishan Mountain was smoky, like a fairyland. Zhou Huaizheng sent two little eunuchs to answer, and the little eunuchs were extremely polite to Mo Lan, stacked the two wooden boxes together, tied them with ropes, and found a stick to pick them up, and did not complain, but laughed and flattered. Fortunately, although there are many things, they are all light and thin objects, and they are not extremely tiring.

Mo Lan held a plain white oil paper umbrella, with thick ink outlining the cold winter plum, wearing her autumn fragrant palace dress, in the spring rain, like a simple and elegant lady encountered in the stone street in the deep alleys of Jiangnan. She stopped to look back at the house where she had lived for half a year, her eyes were as clear as clear water, and she thought that she could never return to this place again, and she felt reluctant, as if she was still in a dream.

In any case, she was happy in half a year in the Division.

The two eunuchs wore robes and carried the box and walked away, Mo Lan slowly followed behind him with small steps, and occasionally met the palace people he knew, and they all asked with a smile: "Are you leaving?" ”

Moran also smiled, turned sideways, saluted, and said, "Yes." After walking far, he gradually retracted his smile and walked along the palace wall in a dull manner.

After the Yujin Gate, went straight to the small courtyard where the palace people lived on the west side of the Funing Palace, walked to the Hanging Flower Gate, saw a few rows of small houses surrounded by a few ancient trees, last year when they walked there were still a few yellow leaves, but now they are full of green leaves, lush.

A little palace maid greeted her, bowed down and said politely: "You are Mo Lan's lady, please come with me." ”

Mo Lan thought that she would be allowed to live with Xia Zhi, Dai Qiu and others, but unexpectedly, she was taken by the little palace maid to two large houses facing north and south, which were fully equipped with covered utensils and even a few fresh bouquets. Moran wondered, "I don't know who lives with me?" ”

The little palace maid said with a smile: "The above said that this house is temporarily lived by the lady alone, and if there are more people in the tea department in the future, they will live with the lady." After a pause, he said, "If the lady is fine, I will retire." ”

Moran bowed, "You can go ahead." ”

Moran carefully looked at the new residence, there were two large houses inside and outside. In the outhouse, there are square tables and several square chairs and stools, and a few double-petaled begonias are inserted in white porcelain vases on the table, which are fragrant. There are windows in the inner room facing the back garden of the Funing Palace, the flower branches are oblique, and the dark fragrance hits people. There is a large carved bed against the wall, and the mattress and quilt cover have been neatly laid out, and the plain brocade curtain hangs low. There are trusses and vermilion lacquered wooden cabinets on the side, and Moran takes out clothes and other items from the wooden box and puts them in the wooden cabinet, leaving a lot of spare space.

By the time I was done, it was past noon.

She wanted to go to Funing Hall to greet Zhao Zhen first, but she was afraid of disturbing his nap. I searched inside and outside Cuiwei Pavilion again, and asked the palace people I knew before, and then went to the house where I lived before to find Xia Zhi and Dai Qiu. Unexpectedly, neither of them was there, only one person was in the house to collect the soles of his shoes. Seeing that Mo Lan was coming, he hurriedly got up and gave up his seat to pour tea, and said with a smile: "Have you asked the official family to say goodbye?" ”

Moran took the tea, "I haven't gone yet, I'm afraid I'll disturb his nap." ”

Jiaoxi said "oh", couldn't find the words for a while, and put away the needle and thread on the soles of the shoes, "I'm pinching the hour, the official family should be awake at this time, why don't I accompany you to the Funing Hall to ask for peace, anyway, I have to go to the pantry to get something." Then he locked the door, and the two went to the Funing Hall together.

Zhao Zhen wants to take a nap every day, no matter winter or summer. Today, I have been waiting for Mo Lan to come over to say goodbye, and I can't say it clearly, lying on the royal bed and tossing and turning, but I can't sleep, so I simply find an idle book to read.

Zhou Huaizheng watched from the sidelines, and at first he didn't know why, thinking that the official family was upset because of the war in Huanzhou and Gyeongju, and he was so frightened that he didn't even dare to come out. Later, I saw that the official family turned a page of the book, and even read half a pillar of incense for a while, and did not move, so I understood. Just as he was about to send someone to Cuiwei Pavilion to call Mo Lan, a little eunuch came over lightly and whispered to him: "There is a palace maid who has a new tune for the tea division to come and ask the official family for peace." ”

Zhou Huaizheng was overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly walked a few steps forward, walked to the front of Zhao Zhen's case, bowed down and said, "Official, Mrs. Mo Lan has come to say goodbye." Seeing Zhao Zhen's expression, he said with a straight face: "Bring her in." ”

Zhou Huaizheng only felt funny, answered the words, hurriedly walked to the porch, and said to Mo Lan: "Go in, wait carefully, don't make the official family angry." ”

Mo Lan entered the hall and saw Zhao Zhen sitting behind the desk, reading a book, and seeing that he was reading seriously, she couldn't bear to interrupt, so she just waited quietly. Zhao Zhen didn't want Mo Lan to feel that he had been waiting for her, for fear of losing the emperor's face, so he deliberately turned the book page after page, looking like he didn't hear anything outside the window. Seeing that Moran stood motionless for a long time, he finally couldn't hold it back, pretended to cough twice, and raised his voice: "Tea." ”

Mo Lan didn't know what he meant, he just thought he was thirsty, and when he saw the warm water on the tea table, he hurriedly poured a cup, held it, put it to his side, and said softly: "The official family, please drink tea." Before he could take his hand back, he was grabbed by Zhao Zhen, and Mo Lan was so frightened that he hurriedly looked at the door, "Let people see it!" ”

Zhao Zhen put the soft wattle he was holding under the table and said proudly: "I can't see it like this." ”

Moran only felt that he was as naughty as a child, and the two looked at each other and smiled, his eyes full of banter. He raised his head and complained, "I've been waiting for you, I can't even sleep well in the afternoon, and you don't come early." After saying that, he laughed again: "If you don't come, I'm going to look for you." ”

He smiled so brightly and handsomely that Moran couldn't help but reach out and caress his face, and after not seeing him for a few days, he felt that he had lost weight. Moran was emotional, and said warmly: "Liulang has lost weight. ”

Zhao Zhen covered the soft hair placed on the side of her face, kissed her palm, and said softly: "In the future, I will have you by my side every day to relieve my worries, and I will only feel happy." If I could eat and sleep with you every day, I would be satisfied. ”

When Mo Lan heard him say "eat and sleep together", he didn't feel red-faced, pulled out his hands, and said shamefully: "The slave and maid are going out to make tea, and it is important for the official family to study hard." Saying that, he picked up the teacup and was about to leave, Zhao Zhen suddenly stood up from the throne, hugged her from behind, and buried her neck for a long time, only to feel that the warmth seemed to have the fragrance of orchids, and muttered in his ear and asked, "What kind of incense do you use?" I've heard it many times. ”

Mo Lan was afraid of being seen by the palace people in such an ambiguous posture, so he broke free from his arms, "Where is there any incense?" The sachet in the cabinet is smoked. ”

Zhao Zhen wanted to say something, and someone under the corridor raised his voice and said, "Official, Lu Xiang asks to see you." ”

Mo Lan listened, and hurriedly picked up the teacup and walked outside the hall, Zhao Zhen looked at her out of the palace gate, turned a corner and disappeared, and then replied: "Xuanlu Xiang went to the palace." ”

Lu Yijian was wearing a high-grade court uniform, wearing a long-winged official hat, his face was worried, and he knelt in the hall and said: "Qiqi official, I just received a return from Li De in Huanzhou, Zhao Deming's child Yuanhao has issued an order to send the Tubo tribes to invade Huan and Qing Prefectures, and now they are out of the camp hundreds of miles outside the city, and the war is imminent, please show the officials." Zhao Zhen was furious when he heard this, and hurriedly sent a letter to Western Xia, warning the Tibetan tribes that if they dared to invade the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, they would not give up.

Although the order was issued, Zhao Zhen still felt that it was not enough, and mobilized troops and horses to Huanzhou and Gyeongju to support, but he didn't want to have half a month, and the Great Song Dynasty envoy had not yet reached the realm of Western Xia, and there was news to Bianjing. Originally, Zhao Deming attacked the east and west, and did not attack the two states of Huanqing, but sent Xiaoer Yuanhao to lead the main army of Western Xia to attack Liangzhou, and the soldiers and horses of the Great Song Dynasty were still on the way to Qingzhou, so it was too late to rescue.

Although the Uighurs were strong, they fought alone, outnumbered, where to resist Yuan Hao's attack, within three days, Yuan Hao successfully conquered Liangzhou, so far, Gan, Gua, Liangzhou were taken by the Pingxia Department, opened up the channel between Western Xia and Jiuquan, Dunhuang and other places. And Liangzhou has been a place for horses since ancient times, and more than half of the war horses of the Great Song Dynasty came from the Gansu and Liang regions, so the imperial court has lost the source of war horses, and the national strength has weakened a little.

Zhao Zhen was already walking on thin ice when he used his troops that day, but now that Liangzhou has been conquered by the Western Xia Department, he feels even more heartbroken and has difficulty sleeping. It was already past the hour, the moonlight was getting brighter, and Zhao Zhen didn't have the intention of sleeping peacefully, so he only buried his head in reading. There was a mountain of chapters on the case, and it was finally removed half of it before Zhao Zhen stopped writing.

Seeing this, Zhou Huaizheng personally brought the lotus leaf lotus root porridge to make supper, Zhao Zhen ate it in a few bites, and picked up the pen to approve the chapter, and saw that there was no ink in the inkstone, so he said: "Come and grind it personally." ”

Today, Mo Lan happened to be on duty, standing under the corridor and waiting, she was the highest rank among the palace people, heard the official call people, and hurriedly lifted the palace skirt and crossed the threshold more than three feet high, Yingying lifted the bead curtain in the inner room, and asked for peace softly: "The official family is blessed." ”

The hall was silent, and Zhao Zhen didn't even raise his head, only caring about the music in his hand. An attendant tiptoed into the hall to add enough candles and retreated quietly. Mo Lan calmly walked to the front of the desk, took water and dripped it into the inkstone, brushed the sleeve of the robe with his left hand, pinched a piece of tribute tobacco ink from the vermilion lacquer box with his right hand, and put it into the inkstone to gently grind.

At the end of the hour, a bright moon happened to hang on the window, starry and cloudy. There is a breeze wrapped in grass and flowers blowing into the hall, the dark fragrance is fragrant, and the night is soft.

Suddenly, there was an attendant under the corridor: "Official, Li Meiren is here, and she is waiting outside the hall at the moment." Zhao Zhen raised his head at this time, but he glanced at Mo Lan first, and saw that she didn't hear it, and only concentrated on grinding the ink, so he said, "Let her in." ”

For a moment, I saw a beautiful woman wearing a moon-white orchid lake blue collared gown, a pink trolling gauze skirt underneath, walking slowly from behind the bead curtain, the willow waist was soft, and the lotus was born step by step. She saluted before receiving the vermilion lacquer drawing plate from the hand of her personal maid, Zhuan Bi, and there was a hibiscus enamel bowl on the plate.

She walked lightly to the front of the desk, put the lacquer plate on the desk, and said with a smile while scooping the soup inside: "Now that the heat is getting stronger, it is easy to get angry and dry." See the lotus leaves in the royal river in front of the Jinse Palace again, the fragrance is pleasant, and it is very lovely. Remembering that there is a custom at home, in July, I want to eat lotus leaf winter melon and duck soup to clear the heat and relieve the heat, so I specially asked someone to pick fresh young leaves in the river, and boiled this soup with my own hands to taste it for the official family. ”

Zhao Zhen smiled lightly, took the small bowl and tasted it, and praised: "It is really moist and delicious, and the taste is very beautiful." Then he drank all the duck soup in the bowl and said, "Your skills have gradually improved." ”

Li Meiren heard the praise, her eyebrows were overjoyed, and she said coquettishly: "If the official family likes it, you can come to Jinse Hall to see the concubines more often." He said it explicitly: "Don't the official family like the fragrance of orchids on the concubine?" A few days ago, the concubine specially asked Si Yuan Si Xin to bring out a lot of orchids, and this morning she bathed with those petals, can the official family smell it? As he spoke, he stretched out his sleeve robe to Zhao Zhenwen and smiled with a smile, and the fruit was fragrant.

Zhao Zhen looked at Mo Lan's color, felt that she was slightly different, and was about to order Li Meiren to go back to the palace to sleep, but saw Mo Lan put away the cigarette and ink in his hand, bowed down and said, "Official, Mo Yan is ready." ”

Li Meiren was proud, and only then did she pay attention to Mo Lanlai, and saw that her face was light, wearing a pink and white embroidered plum blossom placket palace dress, combing a palace bun, standing by the window, fluttering clothes, although she did not apply rouge, but her face was flushed, her demeanor was light and agile, and she saw Zhao Zhen looking at her, as if she was affectionate, and she was faintly worried in her heart.

Zhao Zhen pointed to the messy music on the case, and said in a deep voice: "You clean up these again." He said to Li Wanting again: "It's not early, you go back to sleep early, I still have a chapter to review." ”

Li Wanting drank orchid incense today and boiled soup, thinking that staying in Funing Hall was a must-do, but the official family let her go back alone, she was unwilling, and wanted to say something, and listened to Zhao Zhen say: "I will see you tomorrow." ”

This is already an eviction order, Li Meiren didn't dare to say any more, so she had to bow down and retire. Walking to the palace gate, I heard Zhao Zhen say again: "Wait a minute! Li Meiren was overjoyed, thinking that the official family had changed her mind, so she hurriedly turned around and walked to the emperor, and said with a smile: "The official family wants to keep a concubine?" ”

Zhao Zhen's face froze, and he said, "Is there still soup in the bowl?" ”

Li Meiren's maid Zhuan Bi bent her knees, "Qiqi official's house, there is also a small half bowl of soup." ”

Zhao Zhen smiled, "I feel that this soup is quite delicious, so it's better to stay." ”

Li Meiren saw that the official family was nostalgic for the soup she boiled, and felt proud, put the soup bowl on the tea table, and advised: "If the soup is cold, the official family must let the servants warm it up before drinking it again." Then he said to Mo Lan: "As a female official in front of the palace, you have to be in front of the official family in everything. Don't wait for the officials to be thirsty and hungry before making temporary preparations. Seeing that he was saying it to himself, Mo Lan hurriedly stopped the affairs in his hand and replied respectfully: "The beauty is right, the slave and maid remember." ”

When Li Meiren left the palace gate, Zhao Zhen said to Mo Lan: "You drink that soup quickly, and when it is cold, it will lose its taste." Moran was kneeling on the ground at this time to sort out the recitals that the official had thrown down when he was angry, but he didn't hear it. Zhao Zhen saw that she ignored her, and squatted opposite her, hooked her chin with the music in his hand, saw that she didn't like it on her face, and she didn't look at herself, her little face was full of dissatisfaction, and he was not angry, he laughed and joked: "Little lady, but are you jealous?" ”

Moran turned his face away, stood up from the ground with the music in his arms, and glanced at him with a pout, but did not speak.

The concubines in the palace have always been obedient to him, and no one dared to glance at him, seeing Mo Lan's red lips pouting slightly, his eyebrows and eyes, he felt fresh and lovely, and he couldn't help but throw all the trivial matters in the court to Java, just want to coax the beauty in front of him. He took the soup from the table again, handed it to Mo Lan, and said with a low smile: "This fresh lotus leaf can clear the heat and dampness, the winter melon can clear the heat and relieve the heat, and the old duck can nourish the yin and nourish the blood, and benefit the stomach." You're about to drink this soup and get rid of your breath. ”

Mo Lan said coldly: "If the official family wants to have a concubine with the concubine Lang and talk sweetly, you can first retire from the palace people's inner servants, why bother to be in front of the slaves and maids, and lose the royal majesty." ”

Zhao Zhen smiled, "My little lady is really jealous, I ......" Before the words were finished, Mo Lan shrugged Zhao Zhen's side with his elbow, he just wanted to brush him away, so that he could play the chapter on the desk, but he didn't want Zhao Zhen's hands to be unstable, but he only heard the sound of "bang", the soup had been sprinkled on the dragon robe on his chest, and the porcelain bowl rolled a few times on the white jade marble, but it was not broken. It's just that the edge of the bowl has been bumped several times, and there is a missing corner, and it can no longer be used.

The attendants who were waiting under the porch heard the noise, and they did not know what was happening, and rushed in. saw Zhao Zhen waving his hand with his back to them, and hurriedly bowed back. Zhou Huaizheng glanced at Mo Lan still standing beside him and did not move, seeing that the atmosphere was strange, he didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly retreated.

The two were silent for a long time, Mo Lan wanted to say something first, but he couldn't wipe his face, and he didn't let go of the music and only sulked. Zhao Zhen has been entertained like this, it is enough to whisper, but she is still angry, and when she comes up stubbornly, she only stands there and does not speak.

The night wind suddenly rose, blowing down a few green and white notes placed on the desk, Mo Lan put down the chapter in his hand, bent down to pick up the green and white notes one by one, and suddenly remembered the words he wrote on the note in the Renming Hall that day: Qingqing Zijin, leisurely my heart. My heart moved, and I softened.

She glanced at him, and saw that his chest was soaked, and she was afraid that he would catch a cold, so she said, "My clothes are all wet, and I don't know how to ask someone to change them." She went into the inner sanctuary, and saw some plain white bedding on the truss, and took them to change for him, but he had already entered, and leaned against the door, and looked at her, and did not speak.

For some reason, Mo Lan blushed first, his anger disappeared, but he was still unconvinced: "I'll call someone to change your clothes, it's getting late, and it's time to go to bed." ”

But he ignored her at all, approached step by step, told her that there was no way to retreat, stretched out his hand to support the wall, held her in the center, and looked at her with a smile. She couldn't help blushing and said, "I...... I'm going to call the palace people of the Division. So saying, he slipped under his armpit and ran to the outer temple.

Zhao Zhen just wanted to scare and scare her, but saw that she happened to be standing in front of the floor gauze lamp, shining like a pearl in her eyes. His face was as red as smoke, slightly shy, like an early winter plum that was about to bloom, sweet and sweet, and obsessed. Seeing that she was about to run out, he grabbed her and said in a hoarse voice, "I only need you to serve." ”

Just like when she first met him in the Pavilion, he ignored her wishes and imprisoned her in his arms, and only now did she dare to confirm that the person that day was Zhao Zhen.

He carried her to the royal bed, on which was covered with a soft Hunan bamboo mat, which was as cold as ice. His breath was close at hand, with the warm fragrance on her face. There was also friendship in her eyes, and for some reason, her whole body became hot and she stared at him in confusion. Her face was as white as jade, and her breath overflowed with a faint orchid fragrance. She opened her mouth slightly, wanting to speak, and he took the opportunity to put his face on it and gag her mouth with his lips. Her lips were on fire, and her hands did not obey him, and instinctively climbed on his waist.

The candles in the hall faded and swayed in the wind.

Si Shang Palace did not get called and did not dare to enter the hall, but waited under the corridor, and when the time passed, he dared to show Zhou Huaizheng. Zhou Huaizheng tiptoed into the hall, saw that there was no one in the outer hall, but the lights in the inner hall were extinguished, pondered for a moment, knew it in his heart, and hurriedly retreated to the corridor.

Si Shang Gong came forward and asked, "Do you want Concubine Xuan to come over to serve the bed?" ”

Zhou Huaizheng stretched out his finger and pointed at Shang Gong's forehead, sighed a few times, and muttered a few words softly in his ear, Fang said: "Although you are on duty, I will send someone to call you if you have something." ”

When Shang Gong took a few steps back, he was stopped by Zhou Huaizheng and said, "You quietly record this matter in the file to prevent future reference." He also said, "If the holy will is unknown, it must not be publicized." Shang Gong nodded and said, "This is natural, the slave understands." After speaking, he led the people of the division to go back, leaving only Zhou Huaizheng to guard the side room.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Zhen fell asleep and did not wake up, Mo Lan put on her clothes and still went back to Cuiwei Pavilion, fortunately, she lived alone, and she was on duty from His Royal Highness Funing, and the guards and inner supervisors did not dare to embarrass her. Moran returned to the house, and felt shy at the thought of seeing him again tomorrow. I couldn't help tossing and turning until dawn, and I couldn't sleep.

On the second day, when Xu was returning to Cuiwei Pavilion at night, the wind blew on Mo Lan's waist, his hair was dizzy, and he coughed. Zhou Huaizheng knew about yesterday's events, and had a little more respect for Moran, but he was afraid that she would cough and not be able to hold it back, and lose her honor in front of the palace, so he allowed her to take a leave and let her go back to rest.

Zhao Zhen went down to the court, read a book in the Funing Palace, thinking about Mo Lan in his heart, and ordered tea several times, but he came to serve him, so he asked: "Are you the only one on duty today?" ”

Jiaoxi didn't doubt anything else, and replied carefully: "Dai Qiu went to Ciyuan Hall to reply to the Queen Mother, Xia Zhi went to Yuhe to collect the dew on the lotus leaves, Mo Lan had a headache yesterday, and took leave to rest in the residence." ”

Zhao Zhen bowed his head, smiled lightly, and said gently: "I know, you can step down." ”