Fangbi Cong is the emperor's summer summer retreat. The emperor loves the beauty of Jiangnan garden with stone to make "thin, leaky, transparent", and the Taihu Lake stone layer is placed in the courtyard, the forest is scattered, the water is poured down to the top, the jade waterfall flies into the air, and the green bamboo is covered. When the wind blows, there are phoenix tails and forests, and the dragon's chant is cool and pleasant. Passing through the winding verandah, all the way is a green and wide plantain, which has been freshly washed by the little eunuchs with clean water, and it is so green that it is about to drip water. Ruyi stretched out her hand and flicked it lightly, as if she could still smell the fragrance of the green leaves. In the depths of the garden, there are also a few red-crowned cranes, which flutter their wings among the flowers among the stones, and enjoy themselves leisurely. There is also a row of rare birds hanging in the delicate bird cage under the eaves, which make a crisp and pleasant sound from time to time.

Li Yuzheng led the little eunuchs to stick the cicadas chirping wantonly on the tree with sticky rods, and when they saw Ruyi, they hurriedly greeted them, and said softly: "Why is the queen mother here?" You watch out. ”

Ruyi smiled lightly, looked at the hall and said, "Is the emperor still deliberating?" ”

Li Yu said quietly: "A few adults left half an hour ago, and the emperor just fell asleep. In the past few days, the emperor has been tired, and his eyes have turned red. ”

Ruyi pondered for a moment and said, "Then it's inconvenient to enter the palace?" ”

Li Yu pursed his lips and smiled obediently: "It's okay for others, you naturally won't." Although the emperor is busy these days, he is always thinking about you and the child in your womb, and he has always said that he has no time to go to see the twelve elder brothers. ”

Perhaps it was the word "child" that provoked Ruyi's hesitant nerves, she finally cleaned up her clothes and said slowly: "Then lead the palace to meet the emperor." ”

When I came out of the Fangbi bush, it was already twilight. What she said to the emperor is naturally only known to herself and the emperor. But she understood that what she said still moved the emperor.

As the sun sets, the afterglow of broken gold flows like red and gold paint. The yellowish clouds in the twilight roll up and down, changing into unpredictable shapes, giving people a sense of powerlessness to drift with the current. There is a breeze flowing between the jade of Qionglou, and the slightly wrinkled lake surface is flooded with golden ripples, like a lake of seclusion and light.

Rong Pei helped her to go back along the Jiuqu Covered Bridge from Houhu, and said intimately: "Today's incident is to make Niangniang embarrassed, but why did Niangniang still go to persuade the emperor?" ”

Ruyi picked up the loose hair blown by the wind, and a Buddha's hand pattern inlaid with coral beads on the side of the bun was a gardenia hairpin, and said softly: "Do you think this palace can't do it?" ”

Rong Pei thought about it, lowered her eyebrows and said: "Sometimes, more things are better than less. Niangniang is now stable in everything and sits firmly in the harem, why bother wading into this muddy water. She was a little worried, "In case she annoys the emperor......"

Ruyi said indifferently: "The emperor and the queen mother are mother and son in the end, and they can hide from the first day of junior high school, but they can't hide from the fifteenth." Always to see. ”

"But Concubine Shu and Concubine Qing are the Queen Mother's people, and the Queen Mother doesn't use them, but uses you, Niangniang, this matter is not easy to handle...... Naturally, Niangniang can do it, but it's too risky, not to mention that the Queen Mother was too cruel to Queen Ulanala in the past. ”

Ruyi gazed at the red river in the sun, and the huge and omnipresent afterglow shrouded everything in the Old Summer Palace, dyeing it with a dark golden purple light.

"The sun will always go down, just as a flower will always wither. Not for the grievances of the past, nor for the gains and losses in the present, but only for the future. Ruyi's words carried a bit of calm helplessness, "In the coming days, there will always be a moment when the flower residue fades and the red face ages." At that time, if his children were affected by the fall of favor in the palace, then the queen mother could still be the last reliance. Even if she has no power, the Queen Mother is still the Queen Mother after all. There is no maternal family to rely on in this palace, if you can't even rely on yourself, then helping the Queen Mother today is helping yourself in the future. ”

Rong Pei hurriedly stretched out her hand to cover her mouth, and said hurriedly: "Niangniang is just pampering, and she is pregnant one after another, how can this be?" ”

Ruyi's eyes were clear: "If there is prosperity, there will be a time of prosperity and decline." No one can escape it. ”

Rong Pei bowed slightly, and suddenly said: "If Queen Wulanala is alive, I don't know how she will feel?" ”

Ruyi poked her with a smile: "With my aunt's wisdom, I will definitely not hesitate like this palace, but will agree immediately." ”

When it was time for dinner, the emperor hurriedly entered the Changchun Immortal Pavilion. The emperor entered the palace, and saw that the palace people who served should have retreated, and even the queen mother's most trusted Fu Jia was not around, so he knew that the queen mother had something important to say, so he was busy respectfully and respectfully invited An, and sat down.

For fear of the scorching smell of fireworks, the candles in the hall were not lit much, and some were dull and dark. The heat of the early summer evening was diluted by the snow stored in the silver basin in the hall, and the coolness was slowly like water, penetrating the bones. A jade-colored inlaid luodian cloud dragon pattern bowl at hand is soaked in the best biluochun, and the emerald green leaves after brewing with the second boiling water have been stretched out to the fullest, lined with the jade-colored tea cup The color is more green and translucent.

The emperor saw that the queen mother had a calm face, and her body exuded a slightly dull and cold aura, and he was faintly uneasy in his heart. Called mother and son for so many years, the emperor has been raised under the knees of the queen mother since he was more than ten years old, and he has never seen the queen mother have such a hidden anger and depression.

Such a woman, there are times when she can't hold her breath?

The emperor thought silently, and while he was surprised, he was also a little more calm and calm. It turns out that no matter how wise and resourceful a woman is, she can't escape the tenderness of her children.

Thinking like this, his expression relaxed a lot, and his tone became more gentle and filial: "The emperor is in a hurry to summon her son here, I don't know why?" If the weather is hot and the palace people do not serve well, the emperor will tell her son that it is. ”

The queen mother's face was a little solemn and blue when she was covered by the blue inlaid east bead dotted emerald gold earrings in her ears: "The palace people are not well served, and the mourning family can naturally tell the emperor." If the mourning family's own son is not filial, who can the mourning family tell to go? ”

When the emperor heard this, he suddenly got up and said, "The son of the emperor's mother does not dare to bear it." ”

The Queen Mother stared coldly for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "The emperor doesn't dare? State affairs are important, and the mourning family does not dare to care about the etiquette of the emperor's morning and dusk provinces, but there is a sentence that has to ask the emperor. She took a deep breath, "It has been ten days since Dawazi asked for marriage, how can the emperor decide the date of his own sister's arrival?" ”

The emperor lowered his eyes for a moment, and said softly word by word: "Sister Duanshu has been the pearl of the first emperor since she was a child, how can I let my sister be lonely and old for life." Dawazi is brave and good at fighting, resolute and resourceful, and is a man who can be entrusted with life. ”

The Queen Mother almost gasped, her lips trembled for a long time, and she could speak: "The emperor means ......"

The emperor smiled gently: "My sister has been married to Dzungaria for a long time, and she has never been on good terms with Dolza, and she has never given birth. If this is the case today, I want my sister to marry a desirable husband. Is there anything that the son, who is the elder brother, cannot be perfected? If you want to come to the emperor to learn, she must be happy to have a good son-in-law. ”

The Queen Mother trembled for a moment, and said sharply: "Duan Shuchu is not married well, and the mourning family can't blame the emperor." At that time, the first emperor was seriously ill and dying, although Duan Shu was young, but the first emperor had no older daughters, in order to ensure the stability of the society and the emperor's safe and smooth ascension to the throne, the mourning family could only obey the emperor's wishes and let her marry Dzungar. But now that her husband is dead, there is civil strife in Dzungaria, and the emperor, as a brother and a human monarch, will not take back his sister who is in turmoil, and will she marry again, or marry the enemy of her husband, where is this way of Confucius and Mencius? Where to put the royal face? ”

The emperor was not shocked or annoyed, with a sincere smile, he lowered his eyes to show his obedience: "The emperor can rest assured." The face of the royal family is that the princess remarries decently and keeps the peace of the party. Although the way of Confucius and Mencius is respected, it is the etiquette of the Han people, and we Manmeng people do not have to follow everything. Otherwise, when Shunzhi Ye married his younger sister-in-law Dong Ehuang Guifei, wouldn't he have to become the finger of a thousand husbands, so that his son, who is a descendant of a person, would also stand up and condemn? ”

The Queen Mother's eyes were firm, and she had no intention of backing down: "When Lord Shunzhi married his younger sister-in-law, Emperor Dong E, it was when I had just entered the customs in the Qing Dynasty and did not conform to the folk customs. But now that I have been in the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years, do I still have to learn the customs of the uncivilized time outside the Guan, so that the people will laugh at us behind our backs that we are still barbarians outside the Guan, sleeping on the boundary of the capital and still have the habits in Manchurian tents and cellars?! ”

A thin smile was cast on the emperor's handsome face, with a thin solemnity: "The emperor's mother doesn't have to be angry, why don't you want to welcome your sister back?" But now Dawazi is quite popular in Dzungaria and is deeply supported by relatives and nobles. If I forcibly use troops, the border will be restless; Second, it is tantamount to being the enemy of the entire Dzungaria, which is even more difficult; Thirdly, the size of the Tianshan Mountains and Zhuo faintly have a tendency to move, if I let them connect together, they will definitely become a big trouble. ”

The Queen Mother's face looked cloudy and sunny under the light of the candle flame, and she sneered: "The emperor is interested in the country, and his sister can also abandon it!" Sure enough, a good emperor, a good emperor! ”

The emperor's face gradually became uncertain, and he still tried his best to be obedient in his tone: "The emperor's mother accused her son, and the son had nothing to say." But did Huang Eniang ever think that even if I immediately sent troops to Dzungaria to pacify Dawaqi, but Duanshu's sister had already been under house arrest in Dzungaria, if Dawazi was annoyed and angry, ruined his sister's reputation for a while, or killed his sister desperately, would Huang Eniang blame her son for being unfilial? Such a result, has the emperor ever thought about it? Instead of this, it is better to push the boat down the river and marry my sister to Dawazi, and it will be fine. It should also be my sister's first marriage, Dorza doesn't love her sister very much, as I want today, I want my sister to have a good husband who wants to marry her! ”

The Queen Mother shivered as if she couldn't stand the cold, and after a long time, Lang Ran smiled and said, "Okay!" Good! Good! The emperor is so thoughtful, but the old woman of the mourning family is too worried. She stood up slowly, her gaze like the sharpest sword solidified with murderous intent, straight to the bottom of the emperor's heart, "Actually, what the emperor is most afraid of is that Dawazi wants to use your sister's life to blackmail the emperor into paying for other things." Now that the Dzungar rebellion can be quelled without a single soldier, the emperor is naturally willing. She raised her face and smiled, "The women in the palace, even if they are princesses, they still can't escape the fate of being at the mercy of others." What a wretch! ”

The candle flame jumped in the emperor's eyebrows, and the emperor was very calm, slowly sipped his tea, and said, "The emperor doesn't have to worry too much. Empress Xiaoxian is the wife of her son, and when Mongolia asked to marry Empress Xiaoxian's concubine and Princess Jing, she can also understand the righteousness. ”

"The emperor has such a good wife, it is really a good blessing for the emperor." She smiled gloomily, and there was a little more powerless old man on her face, "It's useless to mourn the family, there are only two princesses in this life, and I can't help the emperor much." Now, your queen is pregnant again, the emperor you already have so many elder brothers, how good it would be to have a princess, one by one in the coming day to marry you and your relatives far away, and calm the country, it is better than a million male soldiers. ”

The muscles on the emperor's face twitched slightly, and a cold anger crossed his eyes, and then he said with a quiet smile: "The emperor's mother is very right. Women smile at the city, sometimes better than the strength of men. At that time, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang did not hesitate to contain the regent Dolgon in order to protect the country of Shunzhiye. He turned the smile into a deep one, "Naturally." The son will not be so unfilial and give up his own mother. Naturally, he will raise his mother for the rest of his life, so as to fulfill the filial piety of the son of man. ”

The Queen Mother was stunned, sat down on the throne of the Nine Phoenixes, stretched out her hand and pointed at the emperor tremblingly, "You...... You...... Hello, Emperor! Hello! ”

The emperor smiled and said respectfully: "With the emperor's mother training for many years, my son naturally doesn't dare to be bad." Late at night, the emperor's mother should go to bed early. If the eldest princess is married, all the etiquette has to be presided over by the emperor. In this way, my sister can marry beautifully! ”

The Queen Mother watched the emperor leave Xiao Ran, shed tears in a daze, and said to Fu Jia, who turned out behind the curtain: "Fu Jia! Fujia! This is the good son chosen by the mourning family back then! He...... He is so willful and stubborn, he can't listen to half a word from others! ”

Fujia wept silently, unable to say a word of comfort, so she had to hug the Queen Mother tightly and let her be heartbroken.

The candle flame on the gilded green beast candlestick jumped a few times, and was suddenly extinguished by the cool breeze pouring in from the long window, and only a wisp of milky white light smoke rose from it, like the most helpless sigh, and the gloom turned into a bleak desolation in the deep palace.