Ping Guiren frowned and picked up the lock on the box with his armor, lifted the lid, and there were two delicate jade bottles lying on the red silk satin inside, and raised his hand to signal the palace maid to come and take it, and the palace maid pulled out the cork and sniffed it on the tip of her nose, and replied: "Rose smell." Because he saw the nobleman nodding, he took out some silver hairpins and wiped them on the back of his hand, and after a long time, he did not see anything unusual, and touched it with his hand and said: "The hand is very slippery, not like a bad thing." ”

Ping Guiren took it over and looked at it carefully, sniffed it again, and said to himself: "Presumably, Concubine Hui doesn't dare to take bad things for me to use, but my uncle said that there are no well-intentioned people in this palace, and everything sent must be carefully read." He put down the jade bottle casually, looked at the scar on his forehead in the mirror again, and said nonchalantly, "Keep it, I won't need it anyway." ”

The palace maid quickly cleaned up, but after thinking about it for a while, she said: "The noble man has been recuperating in the house these days, but the first time someone sent something, the slave maid knew that Concubine Hui was a good person in the palace, and she must have been friends with her master in Changchun Palace." ”

"Befriend me?" Ping Guiren seemed to be disdainful, and snorted lightly, "I'm not a few years older than her son, she is commensurate with my sister, and she is not bad in her heart, and she is still good friends with me?" ”

The palace maid said: "The master now in the palace does not have a lady who can speak, although you disdain to deal with them, but after all, you are only in the identity of a nobleman, what is always the top few have the final say, if there are one or two mothers to help, isn't it a good thing?" Just like this incident, Concubine De Niangniang pressed it down alone, if Concubine Hui and Concubine Yi could say a few words from the side, Concubine De would not be alone. ”

Ping Guiren's fingers lightly tapped his forehead as if he was thinking, and muttered for a long time: "She suddenly sent something, there must be her intention, but she is not afraid of others talking about it when she sends it generously?" Don't forget, she gave birth to the eldest brother, and she is the only brother of our prince, can it be comfortable to be occupied by her younger brother, maybe how they calculate. Mingzhu and my uncle have always been mortal enemies, if I befriend her in the palace, won't my uncle be even more angry? She must also have this thought, it is inevitable that she can't make friends, I don't know what other ideas to fight, I have to guard against her first. ”

The people around the noble people, full of bad ideas, listened to the master's words, and said quietly: "If the lord and Mingzhu are mortal enemies, it is just what the master or the slaves and maids say in private, how dare the court clearly say which one is not in harmony with the other, and the ministers are not all united to do errands for the emperor?" Therefore, you and Concubine Hui can also do this, say bad things, in the future, if anything implicates Changchun Palace, it is better than us to suffer a loss. ”

"I didn't persuade Xianfu Palace to go in last time, I'm really angry, Concubine Wen deserves to be down, and she can't even get a little girl." Ping Guiren hummed angrily, "Let's take a look, let's see what Concubine Hui means, wait for that little slut to give birth to the child, and then I have nothing to do, see how I clean her up." ”

The palace maid said again and again: "I heard that Zhang promised to be born at the end of September and the beginning of October, and the master will stay up for a few more months, and there will always be a day to deal with them." ”

Ping Guiren smiled and showed sharp and vicious eyes, nodded slightly: "If you can give birth to a child, you must also be able to live, there are so many people in the palace, who knows which one will be less important, right?" ”

Obviously, the scheming of the noble people of Ping, can not allow Zhang to promise that the child in the womb can grow up in the future, according to the Jingyang Palace, the twelve elder brothers who are always there are sent to the elder brother, Zhang promised that if he gives birth to a son, he will definitely not stay in Jingyang Palace, but even if she is a princess, the noble people of Ping will not allow her to live. She can't see that Zhang agreed to be proud, she can't see these lowly women are good, young people, as if they have been stained with the poison and evil of the world, and the slender fingers are like an awl, and everyone has to see blood to make her feel comfortable.

The scorching heat was spent in the sound of knowledge, and on the day of the death of the sixth elder brother, the emperor was in Yonghe Palace after he dispersed, and he didn't see him all day, and he didn't go to Cining Palace to ask for peace. What did the two emperors and concubines do behind closed doors, it really made the palace people curious, and after many inquiries, they realized that the two were just teasing the little princess to talk, or write or read, and the emperor was resting all afternoon, and spent a day very ordinarily, and some people were even curious that Concubine De would cry and cry Emperor Bo's pity and sympathy, but that day was obviously the death day of the sixth elder brother, and it is said that Concubine De did not shed a single tear.

But whether Lan Qi shed tears or not, how can outsiders speculate and snoop casually, she mourns her son's feelings, and she is not allowed to be used as a conversation after dinner, for Yinzuo will no longer cry in front of people, as for the tears in front of Xuan Ye, he is often teased by a sentence or two. That day, Xuan Ye followed her in everything, and even agreed to ask him to take a nap, so an emperor who was tireless and time-like like gold, actually accompanied her to do nothing all day, and the affection in it was heavy, sweet and warm She hid it and tasted it slowly, no need to show it everywhere, let alone be criticized by others.

In the blink of an eye, there is a happy event in the palace in July, the emperor decreed that the youngest daughter of the household department Shangshu Ke Kun will be married to the eldest brother for Fujin, and the marriage will be completed in the spring next year, naturally another thing, it is necessary to choose a house outside the palace for the eldest brother, and the emperor's prince finally has to leave the palace to set up his own door, the world still remembers the young lord Chongling, the auxiliary ministers are in power, and in the blink of an eye the emperor's son has to get married.

Although the Han people still do not accept the rule of the Manchus, it can be seen that the national fortune is becoming more and more prosperous, the economy and agriculture are prosperous, and as long as the people have a good life, they gradually do not care which one is in charge.

But the height is unbearable, the more he realizes the achievements of governing a country and the hardships that accompany it, the more worried he is that one day he will lose all this, and the idea of being prepared for danger in times of peace will naturally come out of his heart, for Xuan Ye, he cares more about the dragon chair under his seat than ever at the moment, tightening the imperial power and consolidating the imperial court is something that must be considered every day.

After the Midyear Festival, Cao Yin was ordered to enter the palace to face the saint, and the emperor talked to him in the study of the Qianqing Palace for a long time, and the things he said were naturally not enough for outsiders. Since the death of Nalan Rongruo, Cao Yin has been reused by the emperor, because he is a Han person, the court is not tolerated by the Manchurians, and the Han people are shameless outside the court.

Although he and Rong Ruo generally like literature and poetry, as a Han Chinese, he has a lot less sad feelings than Rong Ruo, a Manchurian, and is more suitable to be an official to run errands for the emperor, and the emperor also values him.

When Cao Yin left the Qianqing Palace, the sun was about to set, and he went out to see a soft sedan chair to come, knowing which lady in the palace, Cao Yin was going to wait on the side, and soon heard Lang Lang's voice, he raised his head slightly, and saw a beautiful woman coming down from the sedan chair under the sunset, and the child jumped under her knees, shouting: "Juezen nobles are faster, faster." ”

Liang Gonggong in front of the door greeted him and asked the tenth elder brother and Juezen nobles to say goodbye, Juechan smiled gently: "The noble concubine asked me to bring the tenth elder brother to the emperor to ask for peace, I don't have to go in, the emperor is very busy, please ask the father-in-law to go and say, if the emperor can see the tenth elder brother, you can bring the tenth elder brother in." ”

While speaking, he looked up and saw Cao Yin in front of the door, his heart trembled, and he quickly avoided his gaze, where Cao Yin respectfully saluted and did not dare to step forward, and Liang Gonggong quickly went in to pass the ceremony, and soon got the emperor's order to bring the ten elder brothers in to meet him, Jue Chan stood calmly beside the sedan chair, surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs, she couldn't say anything to Cao Yin, Cao Yin should not stay for a long time, bowed and bowed, and left in a hurry.

Cao Yin walked over and brought out a slight gust of wind, the lapis lazuli tassel on the hair bun of the Zen nobleman swayed, she raised her hand to hold it, the coldness of the tentacles made her suddenly sober, and she knew in her heart that it was just a glance at Cao Yin, and her mind didn't know where to fly.

It's been a year, Rong Ruo has been away for a year, she hasn't lit a piece of incense for him to burn a piece of paper, whether it's his death day in May, or the Zhongyuan Festival a few days ago, there has never been any mourning, some are just tears that outsiders can't see, and every bit of it is swallowed into the stomach, and even the fragrant lotus can't be noticed.

The tenth elder brother came out not long after he entered, the emperor was very busy, and it seemed that there were ministers waiting for a while to receive the sign to meet him, but when he came out, he grabbed a big grapefruit in his hand, and happily showed off to the Jue Chan clan: "Huang Ama will play with me." ”

Liang Gonggong smiled at Juechan's family: "The Guanxi pomelo that came up from Caigong was only sent to Cining Palace and Ningshou Palace, and it was not yet distributed in the Sixth Palace, and the emperor asked the servants to prepare two, please bring it back and invite the concubine to enjoy it, and the emperor knows that the concubine likes this mouthful." ”

Jue Chan is a knowledgeable person, and asked, "At this time, where did the grapefruit come from?" ”

Gonggong Liang really smiled: "It's that this year is a little different, the local government rushed to send it to the emperor, saying that it was a good omen, and it was just a dozen or so rare tributes, and the six palaces were unevenly divided, so the emperor didn't mention it." ”

"Then I know what to say to the concubine." Jue Chan smiled happily, pulled the tenth elder brother to get on the sedan chair to go, but the tenth elder brother was coquettish to go shopping, the climate was cool and pleasant at the moment, lazy all summer, she also had the heart to take a walk, before going out, it was the concubine who arranged a sedan chair, and when she went back, she didn't have to be restrained.

Jue Chan ordered someone to hold the other two grapefruit and follow behind, leading the ten elder brothers to walk back to Xianfu Palace, Xianfu Palace and Changchun Palace are in the West Sixth Palace, Changchun Palace is closer to Qianqing Palace, this way is bound to pass, but no one cares, a group of people usually move forward, ten elder brothers are lively and active, holding grapefruit from time to time to run, Jue Chan stepped on the bottom of the flower pot to follow him, like a mother and son chasing and frolicking, the ten elder brother is so unhappy.

It's just that the child is unsteady on his feet, running happily, he falls on his heels when he is cold, he cries immediately when he hurts, and he rolls on the ground and refuses to get up, Jue Chan hurriedly came over to hug him, and patted and coaxed, because he understood the character of the tenth elder brother, he made the child happy in a few words, and there were big tears on his face, so he suddenly remembered and asked: "Where is my grapefruit?" ”

Jue Chan looked around, wanting to see where the grapefruit had gone, and when he turned around, he suddenly saw a child standing not far away, holding a golden grapefruit in his hand, which should have rolled out of the arms of the tenth elder brother.

"Eighth Brother, it's time for us to go." At this moment, Baoyun of Changchun Palace followed from behind as he spoke, and when he saw the tenth elder brother and his party, he hurriedly came up to salute, Juechan just bowed his head and did not speak, and the eighth elder brother came over with a grapefruit, and handed it to the tenth elder brother with a smile, "Brother, your grapefruit is here, don't cry." ”

When the tenth elder brother saw his brother, he was even more lively, and pulled the eighth elder brother and said, "Brother, shall we go to play?" ”

Eighth Elder Brother smiled: "I'm going to Cining Palace to say hello to my grandmother, I can't go to play with you, next time I'll let Eniang take me to Xianfu Palace to find you, or......" He looked up at the Juezen nobleman and smiled, "Let the Juezen nobleman take you to Changchun Palace to play." ”

The tenth elder brother responded loudly, and the noble man said to him: "Let's go, it's not good to delay my brother to go to the great grandmother to say goodbye, ten elder brother, let's sit in a sedan chair, your knee hurts." ”

After Baoyun saluted the Juechan clan here, he also led the eighth elder brother away, and after walking not far away, the child turned around to look at his younger brother and the noble Juechan, and only turned around when he saw them get on the sedan chair, and when he followed Baoyun away, he suddenly asked her: "Is the tenth elder brother the child of the noble Juezen?" ”

"Of course not, the tenth elder brother is the child of the noble concubine, and the noble people of Juezen live with the noble concubine and often play with the tenth elder brother." Baoyun replied with a smile, but he just remembered the relationship between the eighth elder brother and the noble Juezen, and no one in the Changchun Palace has mentioned the matter of his biological mother and adoptive mother, and even she doesn't care much about it.

"It's good that the noble people of Juezen can play with their younger brother." Eighth Brother said with a smile, "E-Niang doesn't play with me anymore, E-Niang said that I am going to go to the study and can't play anymore." Baoyun, if I study well, will E-Niang still let me play? ”

"Naturally, you can play, didn't the eldest brother still say that he would take you to ride a horse and shoot arrows? That's more fun than playing. ”

"Baoyun, last time I heard my eldest brother say that the noble Juezen is my mother......"

The child's voice disappeared on the long palace road, Baoyun suddenly stopped, looked down at the little child, and the eighth elder brother looked at her calmly and said: "I understand, the fourth brother is the child of Concubine De, but he is also the child of the imperial concubine, so am I the same?" ”

"Eighth Elder Brother, do you understand?"

"I understand the matter of the fourth brother." The eighth elder brother replied, "But my own don't quite understand, Baoyun, am I really the child of the noble man of Juezen?" ”

Baoyun was very entangled, and he didn't know what to say, so he could only ask first: "If the slave and maid explain it to you, can you not mention it in front of the mother?" ”

The eighth elder brother nodded seriously: "I know that this can't be said, otherwise the eldest brother won't secretly tell E-Niang, E-Niang seems to be a little angry, I know that I can't ask E-niang, Baoyun, don't worry, I'll know it myself." ”

Baoyun looked at the little elder brother in some surprise, and said that the royal children grew up early, but was the eighth elder brother a little too early? I have always felt that this child is very good at looking at eyes, not so much that Concubine Hui raised him, but that he coaxed Concubine Hui to take care of him. At such a young age, she will never be coquettish, she can do anything to make Concubine Hui happy, and Concubine Hui is a person who can't understand, knowing that the eighth elder brother is smart, and she once heard her inadvertently mutter, as if she longed for the eldest brother to have how good it should be to have his younger brother, who is clearly a brother who is more than ten years old, but the elder brother is not as good as the younger brother.

Baoyun slowly told the child about the eighth elder brother, and it was not a big deal to appease him, there were too many similar things in the palace, just like the seventh elder brother and the twelfth elder brother who were alone in the elder brother's house, but they were raised by a more noble person in a different place.

But the eighth elder brother didn't seem to care about these words, he seemed to just need to know whether the eldest brother's words were true, and then went all the way to Cining Palace, Baoyun only heard the eighth elder brother mutter: "But every time I see the noble Juezen, she ignores me, as if she doesn't know me." ”

This is not only the confusion of the eighth elder brother, but also the strange place of everyone in the palace, Juezen nobleman as the biological mother of the eighth elder brother, has never seen this child from beginning to end, as if she was not born at all, the farce in Xianfu Palace is also well known, so many years have passed, and now you can often see the noble Juezen leading the ten elder brothers to go everywhere to ask for peace, like a mother and son are as intimate and harmonious, but every time they meet the eighth elder brother, they are still strangers.

When the eighth elder brother came to Cining Palace, he was just in time for the fourth elder brother to come back from the study, all of them came to greet the great grandmother, the queen mother has long not seen the harem concubines on weekdays except for festivals, but the great-grandsons are all her sweethearts, and anyone who comes must see them, at this time the fourth elder brother and the eighth elder brother are standing in front of them together, they are the two most beautiful boys among the grandsons, and the old man smiled and said to Yinzhen: "Yinzhen will also go to the study next year, and the elder brother should take his younger brother well." ”

Yinzhen was not very enthusiastic, just nodded in a sullen voice, the Queen Mother saw him like this, and suddenly thought that maybe it was because of Yinzuo, and she was sad for a while and stopped mentioning it, and asked the two children what they did today, so she sent Su Mala to lead them to wash their hands and come back to eat snacks.

When the two turned around, they saw Concubine De Niangniang coming in with the palace maid, she smiled sweetly, and said to Yinzhen: "Today's lotus root is very glutinous, better than the day before yesterday, Wen Xian doesn't come to trick or treat, Mama has newly opened osmanthus nectar, you dip it and eat a few more pieces." He asked Yinxi kindly, "Does Eighth Brother like to eat lotus roots?" ”

"I like it." The little guy replied loudly, and then followed his brother to wash his hands, waiting for the palace maid to bring the water basin, there was no one around, Yinxi suddenly pulled his brother and said, "Fourth brother, do you know, I am not Concubine Hui's child." ”

Yinzhen glanced at him lightly, of course he knew, several elder brothers in the study had already said about it, and the eldest elder brother had told them not to mention it in front of the eighth brother, but now that Yinzhen already knew, he didn't care, and said indifferently: "It's the same as me, it's nothing, the noble person of Juezen is your biological mother, and you should have more respect for the noble person of Juezen in the future." ”

Yin Yu asked: "Fourth brother, then will you call Concubine De Niangniang?" ”

"Yes." Yin Zhen didn't think about it, but he also understood that there didn't seem to be much opportunity to call Eniang, and he had always called his mother Concubine De Niangniang, and his mother was not upset when she saw anything, so he didn't want to deliberately change it. Besides, E-Niang seems to care about these things, she was so afraid that she would leave her in the past, for E-Niang, don't care about what to call her. Anyway, he has always liked his biological mother in his heart, and for him, it doesn't matter whether he is a biological mother or not, even if it is not for Yinzuo, he will definitely honor her in the future.

"Then the next time I see the noble person of Juezen, I also call her Eniang, will she ignore me?" Yinxi asked his brother with flashing eyes, "Concubine De is so kind to the fourth brother, but the noble Juezen never ignores me." ”

"Then you still don't ......"

"Fourth brother, don't say it."

Without waiting for Yinzhen to answer anything, Yinzhen suddenly interrupted him, it turned out that a palace maid brought a basin of water, he winked at his brother and signaled not to mention it in front of others, and when he washed his hands and came to his grandmother's side, Yinzhen whispered to his brother again: "Fourth brother, don't tell anyone else, okay?" My mother doesn't know. ”

Yinzhen just nodded, and then the brothers accompanied the great-grandmother to eat snacks, Yinzhen was very good at coaxing the queen mother to be happy, Yinzhen occasionally thought he was talking funny, and then when the brothers left Cining Palace together, the queen mother said to Lanqi: "The two children coaxed to eat a few more bites, don't prepare dinner." ”

Lan Qi was not reluctant, the Queen Mother is eating less and less now, she is indeed less and delicate when she is older, so she stands and talks under the eaves, the Queen Mother is holding a cane with one hand, and most of her is leaning on Lan Qi, the old man is getting thinner and thinner, Lan Qi can also support her body, and she occasionally feels sad in her heart, she always remembers what the Queen Mother looked like back then, if the Queen Mother is always in good spirits.

"After Yinzuo is gone, what has changed in Yinzhen, can you see it?" In the silence, the Empress Dowager asked, the last wisp of golden light gradually dissipated from Cining Palace, the sky slowly darkened, and the old man's expression was also a little gloomy, and he said in a deep voice, "Looking at his appearance to the eighth elder brother today, and then they told me some things about the child in the study, this child is not as enthusiastic about his brother as before." ”

Lan Qi actually heard about it, but she was not always by Yinzhen's side, and she didn't dare to think about it if she didn't see many things, and she even felt that it was not a big deal.

"The child's personality is different, it is normal, but if he is born indifferent to his brother in the future, he will be criticized, you and the imperial concubine should be careful, if he does not want to be warm with his brother by nature, but is misunderstood by others as arrogant, it will not be good. Even if they pretend to be some enthusiasm, as princes, they never help themselves, and it is also their responsibility to maintain the harmony of the royal family. The Empress Dowager said these words in one breath, as if she was tired, and finally said lazily, "Help me in." ”

Lan Qi listened to the heavy heart, while helping the old man into the door, while thinking back to Yinzhen's performance just now, suddenly the power in his hand sank, it was the kung fu of crossing the threshold, the body of the Empress Dowager fell, and the people around the front and back all gathered to help, and carried the Empress Dowager back to the couch in a panic, the old man was weak and indifferent after sitting down, and smiled: "Don't make a fuss, you don't pay attention to your feet, don't scare the emperor." ”

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