The spring day is dark early, and the thunderstorms add to the gloom. The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and all the palaces and courtyards are covered with a thin layer of smoke, and the wind is rolling the torrential rain, like countless horse whips, desperately pumping to the palace wall, and there is no one to see along the way, and the beautiful glazed tiles on weekdays are also covered with heavy gray and black at this moment, and suddenly there is a lightning bolt across the sky, which flashes the world that was originally shrouded in dark clouds as bright as day, but only for a moment, and after a moment, the sky returns to a dull color. The rain crackled on the leaves, and the leaves could not bear them, so they flowed down to the ground again. The wind blew harder, the branches clicked, and the delicate flowers were all swept away by the rain, and the rain splashed and swayed. The raindrops were connected in a line, and they poured down densely with the collapsed sky. There was another thunderclap, deafening, the wind raging, the roar was hideous, and the whole world seemed to be overwhelmed.

Yi's love was anxious and irritable, and with anticipation and countless fantasies, the pace became faster and faster, and finally returned to his palace.

But said that Jia Min wanted to wait for the rain to be lighter, so he went to Yaoguang Hall to see his sister, but the rain not only did not get smaller, but also became heavier, Jia Min said stubbornly: "We have been waiting for almost an afternoon, the rain has not stopped, forget it, no matter how heavy the rain is, I have to see my sister today." As he spoke, he got up.

Xiu Ying hurriedly pressed Jia Min and said: "Girl, the rain outside is really amazing, you must go out, and it's almost night now, it's dark and slippery outside, how can you get out?" There are many people in the Queen's Palace, and someone will take care of it, and the girl is at ease. ”

Jia Min looked at Xiu Ying and said, "A maid is a maid, after all, no sister knows how cold or hot." ”

Xiu Ying said: "Girl, to say something that you don't like, your relationship with the queen now may not be as good as her personal servant." The queen entered the palace when you were five years old, although it was a broken bone and tendons, the same blood flowed, many things, but you don't know what the queen thinks and loves. ”

Chapter VI

Jia Min heard Xiu Ying say this, and nodded, "This is also true, for example, you and I, we have grown up together since childhood, many things, I haven't thought of it, you just thought of it, I haven't said it yet, you will understand, I really can't compare to the maid next to my sister." ”

Xiu Ying persuaded: "The blood of the girl and the queen is thicker than water, the queen is sick, and the girl is also anxious, but you must take care of yourself first." ”

Jia Min said: "I went to see my sister, not only to serve her, to be honest, what can I do?" Decoction and soup or something, I can't compare to those slaves and maids, I just say a few words of self-consideration to make my sister feel more relieved. Besides, I've been in the palace for two days, and my sister doesn't know that I'm here, which is very inappropriate. ”

Xiu Ying comforted: "Presumably, the people in the queen's palace have already told the queen about our entry into the palace, but if you don't say it, the queen should also listen to the emperor, right?" No matter how bad it is, Concubine Jiang Shu probably told the queen too. ”

Jia Min felt a little relieved, nodded and said, "That's right." It's just that my sister knows that I have entered the palace, and I am afraid that she is also anxious to see me, so we will get up early tomorrow morning, and if the rain stops, we will go to the Buddha Hall to bow down for a while, and then go to my sister to wait, my sister will always wake up. ”

Xiu Ying nodded yes.

But it was said that that that night, Jia Min and Xiu Ying had fallen asleep deeply, most of the palace slept peacefully, and even the little novice who kept vigil in the Buddhist hall also fell asleep. Xiao Lin Zi Su Ri knew some fist and foot kung fu, tiptoed without moving, then entered the Buddhist hall, and saw the big glass lamp hanging high at a glance. In the midst of the wind and rain tonight, it was blown to and fro, and it was very unstable. This is a very large and gorgeous palace lamp, and the lamp next to it is significantly different, this lamp, presumably there are dozens of kilograms of weight, the end is magnificent, this Buddha hall, in addition to the golden body of the Buddha, only this is the most valuable.

Xiao Linzi made a light effort, borrowed the wall, walked to a high place, stepped on a foot of the Buddha borrowed the force, and said in his mouth, "The Buddha should not be strange, guilty of sin", then stood on the Buddha, carefully observed the largest palace lamp above the Buddha's oblique, first pushed the hook of the glass lamp to the side with his hand, a gust of wind passed, almost fell, Xiao Linzi thought, if it is not tomorrow morning, the glass lamp has been blown to the ground by the wind, that has no effect, so he hung the glass lamp back to its original place, and took out a pair of strong pliers from his arms, The chain holding the lamp was cut in half, although it was blown by the wind, but if there were a few catties of items on the lamp, the lamp would not be able to bear it, and it would fall.

The chain is very old, but it is very easy to cut, which saves a lot of effort. "Now it's foolproof, wait for the ten-pound fat cat to come here, I'm not afraid that this lamp won't fall!" Xiao Linzi thought, and took out a little fragrant dried fish from his arms and put it on the glass lamp.

After doing all this, Xiao Linzi saw that there was no one around, so he jumped to the ground, knelt on the futon worship mat on the ground, bowed, and said softly, "Come to burn incense again in the future", looked up and saw that the glass palace lamp was hanging just above his head, and he walked out of the hall with confidence.

Nothing was said all night.

Before dawn the next morning, Jia Min got up, and when she saw that the rain outside the window had stopped, she was happy, and hurriedly said to Xiu Ying: "The rain has stopped today, let's go to the Buddha hall quickly." ”

As soon as I walked out of the dormitory, I saw that the little girl Cai Ling had also gotten up and swept the floor in the yard. Seeing that Jia Min was awake, he hurriedly came over to say hello, "The girl is awake." ”

Jia Min replied, "Wake up." ”

Cai Ling asked, "Where is the girl going?" ”

Jia Min said: "Go to the Buddha Hall." ”

Cai Ling said: "Ruxue is cooking, it will be fine in a while, the girl will go after eating." ”

Xiu Ying glanced at Jiamin and said, "Girl, you didn't sleep well yesterday, and your eyes are dark, so let's eat and go again, so as not to lose energy." ”

Jia Min looked at the sky, nodded and said, "Today, it looks like there won't be any more heavy rain." Why is it that there is such a heavy rain in autumn as yesterday? It's good to have something to eat. With that, he walked back to the room with Xiuying.

Cai Ling watched Jia Min enter the room outside, hurriedly put down the broom, and walked out of the courtyard.

The palace in the early morning was terriblely quiet, it had just been washed by the rain yesterday, it was wet everywhere, it was a little barren, and even the birds did not chirp, as if they were afraid of making a little noise, breaking the silence.

The temple has not yet been lit, and the sky is gradually breaking, but the earth is hazy, as if shrouded in silver-gray veil. When Jia Min walked into the Buddhist hall, he saw a child of four or five years old, kneeling on the ground reverently. She walked over and asked softly, "Child, why did you come to the Buddha Hall so early?" ”

The boy turned his head and replied, "Why, don't you know me?" Are you the new palace maid? ”

Jia Min shook her head and said, "I am the queen's sister. What about you? ”

The boy stood up with a little joy in his eyes and asked, "Are you aunt?" ”

Jia Min was slightly surprised, and then he was also happy, "Could it be that you are Zhong Xuan?" ”

Zhong Xuan nodded and said, "Exactly, I am Zhong Xuan." ”

Jia Min happily hugged Zhong Xuan in his arms and said, "Zhong Xuan, I don't want to meet you here, are you here to pray for your mother?" ”

Zhong Xuan replied, "Yes." It's just, aunt, why didn't you tell us when you entered the palace, why didn't you come to see my queen mother? ”

Jia Min let go of the hand holding Zhong Xuan and said, "What? You don't know I'm in the palace? I came the day before yesterday, and yesterday I went to see your mother, but she was asleep and never saw her. ”

Zhong Xuan was puzzled: "Auntie, the queen mother didn't know that you had entered the palace, otherwise he would definitely call me to see you together." ”

Jia Min wondered in his heart, and asked again: "What about your father?" Didn't your father tell your mother about my entry into the palace? ”

Zhong Xuan shook his head and said, "My father left the palace the afternoon before yesterday, and he hasn't come back until now, maybe he didn't have time to tell us." ”

Jia Min immediately said, "Okay, then I will kneel down for a while, and then go with you to see your mother." Seeing that Zhong Xuan was alone, Jia Min asked again, "Zhong Xuan, did you come alone?" Why is no one following you? ”

Zhong Xuan replied: "If I said that I wanted to pray for the queen mother, the queen mother would not agree, she only told me to study hard every day, and not to worry about her, so I slipped over alone while they were not awake." ”

Jia Min said: "You are amazing, and you have filial piety, you can walk so many miles alone at a young age, come to this Buddha hall to pray for your mother, but don't do this next time, they can't find you, I don't know how to worry." ”

But said that this night, Xiao Linzi has been sleeping in the abandoned warehouse near the Buddha Hall, until early in the morning, Cai Ling came to the warehouse to call him, he woke up, learned that Jia Min was about to go to the Buddha Hall, so he hurriedly hugged the cloth bag containing the cat, walked to the Buddha Hall, and placed the cat in the high place of the Buddha Hall, not far from the glass lamp.

While Jia Min and Zhong Xuan were talking, suddenly, a cat meowed, the big glass lamp shook a few times, and then suddenly fell down, the time was too fast, Jia Min didn't have time to dodge, only held Zhong Xuan in his arms, and his mind was empty. Dozens of kilograms of glass lamps fell violently, and the moment they touched the ground, it was the sound of the sky cracking and the earth cracking, which was deafening. The lamp was falling down on Zhong Xuan's clothes, and when Zhong Xuan heard the sound, his face turned pale with fright in an instant, and there was no blood.

Chapter VII

Jia Min was also so frightened that his whole body trembled, and he quickly looked at Zhong Xuan, only to see that his eyes were straight, and he didn't cry, but he was obviously frightened, so he hurriedly hugged Zhong Xuan and ran to the queen's palace.

Along the way, Jia Min talked to Zhong Xuan, Zhong Xuan couldn't hear it, but his face was expressionless, his face was pale, and he didn't seem to be able to breathe, Jia Min was so frightened that tears flowed out, "Zhong Xuan, don't scare your aunt!" ”

I don't know how long it took to run, Jia Min and Xiu Ying finally arrived in the queen's palace, at that time the queen had woken up, and the palace was in a mess, looking for Zhong Xuan everywhere, Jia Min didn't shout, hugged Zhong Xuan, and walked straight to the queen.

The queen was also stunned when she saw Jiamin, she didn't know whether to be surprised or surprised, but asked, "Jiamin, when did you enter the palace?" ”

Jia Min couldn't say anything clearly, "Sister, I'm ...... I...... I entered the palace the day before yesterday, let's not talk about this, I just prayed for you in the Buddhist hall, met Zhong Xuan, the glass lamp on the roof fell down, scared Zhong Xuan, you quickly call the imperial doctor to come and see! ”

The queen looked at Zhong Xuan in Jia Min's arms, and saw that Zhong Xuan's eyes were stunned, and she was frightened at first glance, and hurriedly called Qingnu to call the imperial doctor.

When the emperor came back from outside the palace in the morning, the queen and Jiamin couldn't cry anymore, so they just sat still, just like Zhong Xuan. The queen leaned back on the bed with her hair scattered, Zhong Xuan slept beside her, and Jia Min sat on the stool, their faces with countless tears, but there were no new tears.

The emperor was so frightened that he yelled at the imperial doctor: "Okay, what's wrong with Zhong Xuan?" ”

I saw the imperial doctors kneeling in a row on the ground, and Dai Youqin, the leader, replied in a panic: "Your Majesty, the second prince went to the Buddhist hall in the morning to pray for the queen, who knew that the big glass lamp in the Buddhist hall fell, and the second prince was young and frightened, and he was still unconscious at this time. ”

The emperor said angrily: "How could the glass lamp fall for no reason? ”

The eunuch who was kneeling on the side of the repair room hurriedly kowtowed and replied: "The emperor forgives the sin, this glass lamp must have fallen into disrepair for a long time, this morning Han Jieyu's cat somehow climbed onto the lamp, and the lamp couldn't bear the point, so it fell down, startling the second prince." ”

Han Jieyu also arrived, knelt on the ground and cried: "Your Majesty, the concubine's cat was lost early yesterday morning, and the concubine searched for a whole day and didn't find it, I don't know how she went to the Buddhist hall this morning, it's all the concubine's sin, and the concubine's death can't be compensated!" ”

The emperor was anxious, and hurriedly asked the imperial doctor: "How can I do now?" How to treat it? Just take out the best medicine to cure it! ”

Dai Youqin trembled and said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the second prince is scared, and it will be difficult to cure it." ”

The emperor was shocked and angry, and shouted: "Why are you scared? Why is it so hard to cure? I said that if it can be cured, it can be cured, but you don't want to talk nonsense! If you talk nonsense again, you will all be pulled out and killed! ”

The imperial doctors looked at each other in fright: "Your Majesty...... This...... Wechen is incompetent! ”

The queen was already crying powerlessly, but when she heard this, she couldn't help crying again: "You useless imperial doctors, you are raised in the palace on weekdays, just to save your life at this critical time, but now you say that you are incompetent, it is really useless!" ”

Seeing that the queen was so sad, the emperor also shed tears, and asked: "When the glass lamp fell to the ground, who was by his side?" ”

When Jia Min heard the emperor ask, he also eased his emotions from his sadness, knelt down and replied: "Your Majesty, it was the people's daughter who was beside the second prince at that time, I went to the Buddhist hall early in the morning to pray for my sister, and the second prince was also there, so I chatted with the prince for a few words, and while I was talking, the glass lamp fell. ”

When the emperor saw that Jiamin was also crying sadly, he stepped forward, helped Jiamin with his own hands, and said, "Jiamin, you should get up and sit down first." ”

The queen couldn't sit still sadly, but she sat still, and cried without a sound: "Your Majesty, today's incident is really a monstrous disaster, the concubines don't know what they have done wrong, and they have to be punished like this. ”

The emperor probed to see Zhong Xuan, who had already passed out, and all his internal organs were broken in pain, so he could only be relieved: "The queen has the right to rest assured, let the imperial doctors try their best to treat, or there is still a glimmer of life." ”

When the queen heard this, she only felt dizzy and her head was swollen, and her body was weak, so she fainted on the bed.

When the queen woke up again, it was two hours later, and Zhong Xuan had been taken to a side hospital for treatment. Seeing that Jiamin and the emperor were still accompanying her in her room, the queen slowly spoke and said, "Your Majesty, the concubines are useless, they can't take care of themselves or Zhongxuan, and it's the concubine's fault that makes the emperor worried." As he spoke, he burst into tears.

The emperor shook his head and said, "Emperor E, you are not wrong, the fault is only that I went out of the palace in the past two days and did not accompany your mother and son." ”

The queen looked at the emperor, tears covered her sallow face due to illness, and said: "Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven, you have too many things to do, and the concubine is the master of the harem, not only did she not teach the six palaces, but she also didn't even take care of her own body and the safety of the prince." ”

The emperor hugged the queen in his arms and said with tears: "Emperor E, don't say it, don't talk about the past, you just need to take care of your body, and in the future, we will have a few more princes, and you can give birth to a few if you want to." ”

The queen put her cold hands on the emperor's back, cried for a while, and gradually calmed down, and said, "Your Majesty, you go back first, I'll talk to Jiamin." ”

The emperor let go of the queen, nodded, and left silently.

The queen seemed to have shed all her tears, and she stopped crying, so she took all the palace maids out of the palace, sat crooked on the bed, looked at Jiamin, and said, "Jiamin, I'm afraid my sister won't be able to." ”

Jia Min thought that the queen was going to say something considerate to her, but she didn't expect this first sentence to be so sad, her tears couldn't be held back anymore, and she burst out of her eyes, she stood up, stepped forward and knelt on the ground, and cried loudly: "Sister, these days, I almost can't say a word to you, this huge palace, it seems that there is no place and necessity for my existence, as soon as you open your mouth today, you will tell me such a sentence, do you blame me for coming to the palace by mistake?" Do you think I'm unlucky enough to come here and restrain you? ”

Seeing Jiamin like this, the queen not only didn't cry, but smiled lightly, and said: "Jiamin, you get up and sit, I'm sick, it has nothing to do with you, my own body knows by myself, if it weren't for looking at Zhong Xuan Shangyu, I want to take care of him with a breath, I'm afraid, I'm long gone." ”

Jia Min still knelt on the ground and couldn't get up, crying: "Why does my sister give up on herself so much? I remember when I was a child, you were so glamorous, as dazzling as a pearl, everyone envied you, I also wanted to be as good as you, so I had the motivation to read every day, how come today, but you say such discouraged words? Even my sister is still like this, what else do I have to do? ”

The queen looked at Jiamin gently, and said: "Jiamin, I don't know at all that you entered the palace this time, maybe it was a surprise from the emperor to me, or perhaps, the emperor also knew that I would die soon, so I asked me to see my relatives again, okay, I have a few words to say to you." ”

Jia Min walked a few steps on his knees, went to the queen's bed, grabbed the queen's hand, and said: "Sister, I entered the palace this time, I thought you knew, I just came to serve you, I want your illness to get better as soon as possible, presumably the emperor is also thinking about it, you have to cheer up, don't say any more frustrating words!" ”

The queen just said: "Jiamin, your hands are so warm, but my hands are so cold, you cheer me up, why don't I want to cheer up, it's just that the things in this world are not what you want, you can do it, I am strong on weekdays, and I refuse to treat anyone harshly, I do many things myself, but I boiled my body weak, and I have survived to this point, which is useless." ”

Jia Min cried and said, "Sister, if you worked too hard in the past, now you don't think about anything, don't do anything, lie down and rest, you will definitely get better." ”

The queen coughed and said, "Jiamin, I don't want to say anything else, don't be emotional, too sad, life and death are rich and rich, my sister only has one thing to ask you, you must do it for your sister." ”

Jia Min stared at the queen and said, "What's the matter?" As long as my sister asks me to do it, I will do it well. ”

The queen looked at Jia Min, although she was weak, she said very seriously: "After I leave, you will become the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty." ”

"What?" Jia Min was so frightened that she let go of the queen's hand and sat down on the ground.

The queen did not change her serious look, and said: "Jiamin, our Zhou family is a family loyal to the country, the most noble courtier, and the daughter born must be the queen, and you must not despise yourself." ”

Jia Min sat up straight a little and said, "Sister, you just need to take care of your illness, why do you say these words?" ”

The queen hated iron but not steel, and said, "Jiamin, don't you understand? My sister really can't do it anymore, I can't hold on anymore, how many days can I have, ten days, twenty days, a month? My father has passed away a long time ago, we don't have a brother or brother, and Zhong Xuan can't do it, I only have one son, if you don't stay in the palace to take care of my only son for me, and be the most noble woman in the palace for the Zhou family, our Zhou family will be finished! ”

Jia Min didn't see that her sister was talking casually, but she didn't know how to answer for a while, so she could only answer: "Sister, people don't want to be queens, they can be queens, although the emperor doesn't have many concubines, but there are several, even if I start working hard today, I don't know when I will be able to complete your entrustment." ”

When the queen heard Jiamin's answer, she seemed to be a little relieved, and said, "Jiamin, since you don't refuse, my sister is much more relieved." The emperor is the gentlest and kindest person, and I can only rest assured if you follow him. Let me ask again, do you like the emperor? ”

Jia Min was shocked when she heard her sister ask this, and said, "Why does my sister ask like this?" The emperor is my brother-in-law, how can I like him? ”

The queen listened and said: "Jiamin, even if you don't like the emperor, you have to work hard to like him, and you have to work hard to become the emperor's favorite woman, and even surpass me, although my life is over, but your life has just begun." The queen said, took out a small brocade box from under the mattress of the bed, handed it to Jia Min, and said, "Jia Min, there are two pearls in this brocade box, which my father gave me when I entered the palace that day. One of them represents me, one represents you, my father told me that day, when you are an adult, I will ask you to enter the palace to accompany me, and now, I give you two pearls, and in the future, you look at them, as if you see me, do you understand? ”

Jia Min took the pearl, opened it and looked at it, closed the brocade box again, and said: "Sister, I am grateful for your consideration for me, but feelings can't be forced, how can I say that if I like someone, I like someone?" ”

The queen sighed: "In the emperor's family, the most important thing is love, and besides, feelings are cultivated. I see that the emperor is interested in you, this is your luck, you know? ”

Jia Min said: "Even though the emperor is very good, how can I like my sister's husband?" ”

The queen said: "Jiamin, if you don't shoulder the responsibility of the Zhou family, who else can?" Do you want to let the woman next to the Zhou family go? ”

Jia Min was puzzled and said, "Sister, why do I have to be the queen and marry the emperor?" Wouldn't it be better for me to marry a rich clan son? If you really care about the Zhou family and the emperor, you should take care of your illness yourself! Jia Min said, crying even harder.

The queen said: "Jiamin, my sister is not better, I know that my trust is very selfish, but if you approach the emperor and try to understand him, you will definitely fall in love with him." You are still young and you still don't understand that if you don't become a master, you will never be happy, what you want will be difficult to get, and what you want to give up, but you can't give up! After the queen finished speaking, she suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked, "Jiamin, could it be that you have an intentional crush?" ”

Jia Min shook her head and said, "Sister, I don't have a crush, but the emperor is your crush, if he accepts me as a concubine, aren't you jealous and resentful?" ”

The queen reached out and stroked Jia Min's hair and said, "Jia Min, your hair is black and dense, and it looks so good. The emperor is the Ninety-Five, not an ordinary man, even if he doesn't accept you, he will accept others, if it is someone else, I would prefer to be you. In the past, I had the best relationship with Han Jieyu, but now, they framed her for harming my Zhong Xuan with a cat, my Zhong Xuan was wronged, but I have no choice, I have never harmed anyone in my life, I am wrong, many times, if people don't offend me, I don't offend, if people offend me, I should be wrong. Jiamin, the truth of everything is only for you to find, the emperor, mother, Zhongyu, I have entrusted it to you. ”

Jia Min nodded and said, "But if the emperor is so amorous, see who loves whom, I'm afraid that even if he likes me, there will be new ones in the future." ”

The queen said disapprerovingly: "Our emperor is still much more dedicated than the emperors of all dynasties, you see that this huge palace is only five women." ”

Jia Min sighed and said, "Yes, but after all, it's not just you, sister, there are four other people!" ”

When the queen heard Jia Min's words, she was also a little hesitant, but she continued in an instant: "Jia Min, in the palace, the most important thing is sincerity. I am too sincere to the emperor, now I am only sad, the emperor has three palaces and six courts, even if he knows that you are sad, he can't comfort him, because everyone in the palace is sad, how can he have the heart to comfort them one by one? If you want to say sad people, won't the emperor be sad? If there are many people who love him, but everyone hurts him, he will be sad. Since entering the palace, this life is not his own, it is the big family behind him, and his heart is used for love, so he is not used in other aspects, and if he is not careful, he will only lose everything. ”