Lan Qi looked up at the Empress Dowager, she was like a Buddha statue on a Buddhist shrine, kind and gentle, revealing an inviolable divine majesty, they all embraced everything with a broad mind, and at the same time guarded the bottom line that could not be crossed.

"I'm here today, you can push me in front of people, but how long can I live?" The Empress Dowager smiled gently, and the words she said hit Lan Qi's heart directly, "Now that Concubine Tong is higher than you, you are powerless to resist, but maybe ten or twenty years later, there will be newcomers who are younger than you and have a lower status than you to do the same thing." If Xuan Ye can cherish you for a lifetime like now, it will be your blessing, but this is a luxury, for the women of the harem, this is the greatest luxury in the world. ”

Lan Qi's gaze slowly fell, but the Empress Dowager said solemnly, "Look at me." She hurriedly lowered her gaze on the old man's face, and the Empress Dowager said slowly, "If this child is a princess, it doesn't matter if it is raised by me, but if it is a little brother, raised in Cining Palace, it is much more precious than the elder brothers of Hui Concubine Rong, and it will definitely have an impact on his life in the future." You are a mother-in-law, and if you want him to experience such a life that is different from that of his brothers and sisters, my great-grandmother will naturally be happy to take care of him. But have you thought about these things? ”

With a blank look on her radiant face, Lan Qi was speechless to respond, Xuan Ye only mentioned one or two sentences, and she didn't take it to heart, she just thought that the child Empress Dowager was raised by a great favor, and she would be looked at sideways, and she didn't think that it would have an impact on the child's future.

"And you, it is estimated that Xuan Ye will not be able to let go of you for more than ten or twenty years, maybe for a lifetime, you are a blessed child." The Empress Dowager slowly sat on the side of the chair, looked at Lan Qi who was cross-kneeled on the futon and said, "Your mother is different, and the children you give birth to must also be loved by thousands of people. ”

Lan Qi shook her head and nodded again, she remembered that the family gossip said that the first emperor favored Concubine Dong E, saying that the little brother she gave birth to was the first son of the royal family, and the canonization of the crown prince was unsuccessful, and he was crowned the prince at the age of infancy, but unfortunately the child was not blessed.

"Xuan Ye will not be as ridiculous as the first emperor, but he will also have selfish intentions, although the fault of the incident back then was not in Dong E's family, but she did not block or persuade, let the emperor do all the ridiculous things to him that provoked the ridicule of the government and the opposition, she deserved to be blessed." When the Empress Dowager said this, she couldn't help but brows, maybe she always felt in her heart that the existence of Dong E's family was already wrong.

But the old man quickly changed his mood and continued to teach Lan Qi: "Xuan Ye has only learned how to really cherish you and feel sorry for you in the past two years, you must keep the initial grievances in your heart, and the pain of that whip and whip must be unforgettable. Don't get carried away, don't let Xuan Ye do things that destroy the rules of the ancestors and destroy the relationship between courtiers for you, don't let yourself bear the notoriety of being a bad face, those sanctimonious civil and military generals will do the most is to blame women for their incompetence. This has always been the case in all dynasties. ”

The child in the womb suddenly moved, as if affirming the words of the great grandmother, Lan Qi looked at the belly uneasily, but the child quickly calmed down again, only to hear the empress dowager say again, "Ordinary people's families, if the woman says that I am for the sake of the child, then it is okay, can the small family still make trouble?" But you are in the palace, you are the emperor's woman, and your children are the prince's sons and grandsons, and their future is not up to you. Since it is for the children, the things that should be done are never on the children, only when your husband is alive and well, and the court is stable and prosperous, can they have a future, and when you are really dedicated to Xuan Ye's body, you are planning the future for your children. ”

Lan Qi's dazed expression gradually dissipated, what she said when she was sitting by the lake to feed the fish that day, Xuan Ye coaxed her without delving into it, it turned out that the answers were all here, she didn't understand whether she was a selfish desire or for Xuan Ye, it turned out that it was not two things, she thought about Xuan Ye all the time, it was originally a kind of selfish desire.

"Since Xuan Ye promised you, this child, whether it is a princess or an elder brother, will be raised in Cining Palace first." The Empress Dowager was leaving, but she didn't seem to plan to let Lan Qi leave, and said, "But I'm going to be sick when I'm old, in case the royal family and nobles find trouble with this child, I'm afraid I won't be able to live long, Lan Qi, think about it yourself." ”

The Empress Dowager left slowly, and the open door of the Buddha Hall threw the sunset from behind Lan Qi, but with the rumbling sound of the closing door, the Buddha Hall fell into silence again, and the sandalwood was faint, together with the dark light, calming Lan Qi's heart.

She raised her eyes to look up at the supreme Buddha, her hands on the bulging belly, her life may be the first child to have the biggest changes, she can no longer be the delicate and pretty little noble, she is going to be a mother, from now on, protect her husband and children, but also protect herself.

Su Mala Mama didn't see the noble people come out, and saw the master's solemn expression, she didn't dare to ask more questions for a while, and sent back to the dormitory to serve tea, when the little palace maid came to beat her legs for half an hour, she heard that there was movement in the Buddhist hall, and Mama couldn't help but welcome out.

Lan Qi's face was comfortable and peaceful, as if she had figured out what she had been entangled for a long time, smiled at her warmly, held hands affectionately, and came to the queen mother together. ”

Lan Qi smiled: "My great-grandmother can't bear to have a little grandchild in my belly." As he spoke, he walked in front of the Empress Dowager, slowly bent his knees, raised his head and said to the old man with a smile: "The Empress Dowager, the child in the belly of the concubine, please work hard and take care of him for the concubine." ”

"You pondered for a long time, or did you insist on keeping the child in Cining Palace?" The Empress Dowager was not happy or angry, and looked at Lan Qi seriously, "I thought you would give up." ”

Lan Qi smiled calmly: "It's not the meaning of the concubine, it was the emperor who said it first, since the emperor said so, the concubine will accept it well, what you said ......" She covered her heart, her eyes were crystal with tears, "Lan Qi will remember it in her heart for the rest of her life, and she will also tell the children that the great-grandmother is good to their mother." ”

"Silly girl." The Empress Dowager smiled happily, reached out and put her on her knees, patted her lightly and said, "How old are you, enjoy your current youthful life, my big truths are just afraid that I won't have time to tell you, so I poured them out." I'm good to you, don't you expect you to be good to my Xuanye for the rest of your life? ”

Mama breathed a long sigh of relief on the side, today's incident has been hanging with a heart since Concubine Tong Guifei came to Cining Palace, and now she sees that the grandparents and grandchildren are talking well and understanding each other, she is really relieved, standing aside and asking with a smile: "I should really call the emperor to come up and take a look, and see if I have become my grandson-in-law." ”

said this, so I did the same, Mama sent someone to invite the emperor to come to dinner at night, and then Xuan Ye really came when the meal was set, it is said that the ministers came directly after the dispersal, no wonder they didn't even change their clothes, the little nobleman waited for the emperor to change his clothes with his stomach, stood on tiptoe when he reached out to buckle the buttons, and was disgusted by the emperor, but when he looked closer, he saw that her eyes were red and must have cried, and when she didn't get to her grandmother, she asked softly: "Why are you crying?" ”

"I want the emperor to think." Lan Qi smiled perfunctorily, not mentioning today's events at all, and Xuan Ye knew that the concubine had lost her temper, and when she saw that her grandmother and Lan Qi didn't say anything, she just had dinner with He Lele, but after the meal, Lan Qi was sent back to Zhongcui Palace to rest first, and the rare Empress Dowager left the emperor behind when they both came.

"The imperial grandmother left her grandson, did she have something to say?" Xuan Ye doesn't play dumb riddles with his grandmother, the grandfather and grandson are sitting opposite each other at the moment, the empress dowager is holding the chess pieces in her hand and not falling, hearing him say this, she simply put aside the chess pieces in her hand and didn't continue, looked at Xuan Ye and said, "Concubine Tong and Concubine Wen, you are ready to let them make such a fuss." ”

Xuan Ye lowered his head to sort out the endgame on the chessboard, and as the chess pieces were black and white, his expression gradually became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "It's still Niu Hulu's family after all, this is to make Concubine Wen die young, and they are really willing to do their best." ”

"So you're going to sacrifice your cousin?" The Empress Dowager saw through everything, while she hated and disliked Concubine Tong, she also deeply understood how pitiful this child was, she was not just Tong Guowei's pawn, she had always been Xuan Ye's pawn, Xuan Ye was much more ruthless than his father and grandfather after all.

"Grandchildren will treat her well." Xuan Ye packed up the chessboard, wiped his hands with the handkerchief on the side, and looked at his grandmother calmly, "I didn't sacrifice her, I just let her do what she wants, which is also her blessing." ”

"What will happen in the end of doing what you want to do in the palace?" The Empress Dowager said earnestly, "What results do they have one by one, the imperial grandmother doesn't care, the imperial grandmother doesn't want you to look back on the past and touch the cold place in your heart when you are my age in the future, for your own ruthlessness and ruthlessness, don't do too much." ”

Xuan Ye nodded, "Grandson remember." ”

"Lan Qi's child, after giving birth and raising it, brought it to Cining Palace, today I also made it clear to her, she thought about it for half an hour, but she still didn't give up." The Empress Dowager had a hidden worry between her eyebrows, "Xuan Ye, will you treat Lan Qi like this one day?" ”

Xuan Ye didn't have time to think about it and said, "Grandson won't, I have never treated Lan Qi as a woman in the harem." ”

This night, the emperor went to the Chengqian Palace, it is said that there is no time to meet during the day, and specially to appease at night, the sound of the guqin sounded for a whole hour, Yukui closed the window and muttered, "Doesn't the fingers of the concubine Niangniang hurt?" After playing for so long, the nails are going to rot. ”

Just when Concubine Duan came over and heard it, she scolded a few words, Yukui stuck out her tongue and ran away with a smile, Concubine Duan sat down on the side of Lan Qi's couch and said: "I feel relieved to see that you look good, the emperor asked me to come, and I also have the intention of taking care of you, but I don't dare to let you have a mistake." ”

"The concubine is very good, the mother doesn't have to worry too much." Lan Qi said lazily, "It's just that I'm a little out of breath when I start lying down, so it's better to rely on some." ”

"Grit your teeth again and give birth." Duan Concubine said gently, her eyes moved slightly, and she still asked, "What did the concubine say to you today?" ”

"Just a few words of gossip, do you want to listen?" Lan Qi asked Duan Concubine rhetorically, she was not guarding against anyone, but this kind of thing, she didn't plan to tell anyone, and she hoped that Duan Concubine would not misunderstand herself.

Seeing her like this, Duan Concubine didn't ask any more questions, just said a few words casually, let her rest early, and on the way to the main hall, she saw someone coming in at the palace gate, but she couldn't see her face clearly when she stood in the light, and the person went to the noble person, so she signaled the palace maid around her to inquire, and came back after a while to say that it was the winter clouds of Xianfu Palace.

Dongyun didn't stay for a long time, just passed a word for Concubine Wen, and asked Lan Qi to go to Xianfu Palace to sit when she was comfortable a few days later. ”

The next morning, Huanchun asked about it, and the little nobleman just shook his head: "I'm not feeling well, I don't want to go out." Huanchun thought that the master was really uncomfortable at first, and she was anxious to ask for a doctor, but it can be seen that Lan Qi smiled at her, as if she was stupid, and realized that she just didn't want to go to Xianfu Palace.

"Concubine Wen's affairs, I don't want to get involved, there is Concubine Tong living in front of me, and I have to guard against her coming to toss me anytime and anywhere, I can't be busy." Lan Qi gulped down the steamed old tofu, with a thin layer of hot sauce on it, such a rough dish, it was something she wanted to eat out of whims, she wanted to eat it early in the morning, and she didn't get tired of eating it for several days, Bu Guiren muttered that she was going to give birth to a princess, and Lan Qi didn't care.

And after that day, Concubine Tong didn't come to Lan Qi's trouble, the emperor didn't know what he said to her that night, Concubine Tong didn't seem to be obsessed with this matter anymore, every time Lan Qi heard the sound of the guqin, he knew that the emperor stayed in Chengqian Palace, and it was still not light after the Double Ninth Festival, and everyone said that the emperor was still much more kind to his cousin than ordinary people.

In late September, the weather is getting colder, and the bed and kang are spread on the kang in the house of the Bu Guiren and the Duan Concubine, and the Bu Guiren is weak and has already used the charcoal accumulated in the old years to burn the fire for warmth, only Lan Qi, a little pregnant woman, is hot every day, so that the Bu Guiren do not want to come to her house, often Lan Qi walks in the yard, and then walks under the sister's window and says a few words to her.

On this day, the two of them talked through the window again, Duan Concubine came out to see, laughed at them for being stupid, and was about to pull Lanqi into the sitting, when a little eunuch ran outside, saying that the emperor ordered a banquet to invite Western envoys, and tonight he held a banquet in the Qianqing Palace, and invited all the palace ladies and nobles to go to the banquet.

"It's really lively, I just said that the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother are not allowed to do it during the Double Ninth Festival, and I always feel that something is missing, and there is something lively here." Duan Concubine called Huan Chun to help Lan Qi to groom herself, and said with a smile, "I met a Western envoy with the emperor in the past, and they look very different from us, with a big beard and a high nose bridge, and blue eyes. ”

Bu Guiren didn't want to go, he couldn't bear to be quiet and playful, and finally dressed up, just waiting for the summons in front of him, and Lan Qi had no suitable Jifu by her side, Duan Concubine made the decision to let her pick a gorgeous regular dress to wear, combed her hair with her own hands, dressed up beautifully, and Bu Guiren said enviously that she had been this month, and her face had not changed, and they were so ugly that they couldn't see anyone at that time.

"No way, I'm naturally good-looking." Lan Qi joked proudly, was frolicked by the two, and soon heard the movement of the Chengqian Palace in front of him, Concubine Tong had already gone, and soon someone came to invite the concubines, and the three of them also went, and on the way, they saw the concubines of each palace and each hall one after another, and the emperor did not favor one over the other, and all those who should come came.

The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager are also indispensable to the banquet, and now the Empress Dowager's longevity has also become a part of the national prestige, this woman who has gone through three dynasties has already become famous overseas, and the envoys have seen the old man, respectfully performed the most noble etiquette of the Qing Dynasty, and the Empress Dowager was very happy and gave a heavy gift.

Xuanye has foreign ministers, such as Nan Huairen's generation, Lan Qi has seen it once or twice, but Nan Huairen and they look very different from these people, the dancers they brought are enchanting and unrestrained, dancing in public, showing their arms and legs without concealment, and the courtiers and nobles have straight eyes, and the ladies feel very embarrassed.

Lan Qi was very curious about this exotic customs, and what surprised and admired her the most was that Concubine Wen was so young that she could communicate and talk to them very well, no one knew when she learned this foreign language, just saw her smiling Yingying sitting next to the Queen Mother, and the envoy's wife sitting in the lower hand, the two talked and laughed from time to time, and even the Queen Mother asked about this exotic culture, and she also relayed the words of the envoy's wife to the old man one by one.

Lan Qi heard a few Fujin behind him saying: "Now the Eight Banners raise their daughters to be sent to the palace, but they are all taught in different ways, no wonder all of them are villains, in the past, it was said that the youngest daughter of the Niu Hulu family is difficult to become a climate, not as good as the queen's fingers, but now looking at it, she is much stronger than Queen Niu Hulu." ”

Bu Guiren also heard these words, she gently pushed Lan Qi, and whispered: "Look at the concubine Tong on the other side, her face is dark and gloomy, even darker than the slave behind the Western envoy. ”

"My sister will talk nonsense too." Lan Qi laughed at her, the two were just joking, but she still looked at the concubine curiously, at that time the concubine was covering her sleeves and drinking, Xu was displeased to see Concubine Wen snatching her edge, Lan Qi didn't dare to linger, turned back, inadvertently saw a familiar face, and then looked at it, it was the Jue Chan clan who also came to perfunctory, and was sitting with Yi Concubine and Guo Guiren.

Bu Guiren whispered on the side, "Did you see that Juezen agreed?" Lan Qi bowed her head and listened to her sister continue, "It's fine after moving to Yikun Palace, I don't know if I'm enlightened, or Yi Concubine Niangniang and Guo Guiren take good care of it, and the illness and injury are healed, you see the clothes on Yi Concubine's body, they are all made by her, how beautiful." ”

Lan Qi knows that Bu Guiren now often goes to Rong Concubine or Hui Concubine with Duan Concubine to get together, and he knows more things than before, but he is content to raise a fetus, and he knows very little about things outside.

I wanted to retract my gaze so that I could lower my head and eat vegetables, and suddenly saw Guo Guiren over there and fell softly into the arms of the palace maid behind him, but he didn't faint and woke up quickly, but his face was very poor as if he was sick, Yi Concubine hurriedly let people help him back, and this time everyone watched, Lan Qi listened to a few Fujin behind him and said: "Guo Guiren won't be there, isn't she the most favored newcomer?" ”

Lan Qi didn't have anything, she just raised her head and inadvertently landed on the concubine, and she drank another glass of wine angrily.

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