As the two spoke, they had already raised their steps, wandering around aimlessly, with Feng Fei following behind. After walking a few steps like this, Nie Peixiao remembered something again, so she asked lightly: "You have been in the palace for two years?" When do you plan to leave the palace? ”

"Out of the palace?" He shook his head in confusion: "The saint didn't mention it...... The slave maid has been in the palace for two years this month. ”

"There have been too many things recently, and I can't remember it. When the queen mother is buried in the imperial mausoleum, the king will mention this matter to the royal brother, and be sure to find a good home for you. ”

Nie Peixiao's voice fell, but her indifferent face suddenly turned pale, and she said hesitantly: "This ...... I'm afraid it's not appropriate. ”

"There's nothing wrong with that." Nie Peixiao said simply: "Female officials can leave the palace at the age of twenty-five, as long as you are willing, the imperial brother can't force you." Besides, I don't want you to stay. ”

He looked at the magnificent palace of Yingyuan Palace from a distance, and sighed coldly: "The hearts of people in the palace are unpredictable, there are too many rights and wrongs, and it is not a place for you to stay for a long time." ”

It is indeed not a place to stay for a long time, and I sighed in my heart. If Nie Peixiao helps, will he be able to get out of the palace smoothly? Or will this cause trouble for Nie Peixiao?

Danxin was hesitating, but the other party had said categorically: "This matter is so decided, after the funeral of the queen mother, this king will personally make the decision for you." ”

*****

Three days later, Emperor Tian held a grand funeral ceremony for the Empress Dowager Ye, thousands of people held the lamp and opened the sacrifice, and set off from Yingyuan Palace at the time, just to enter the mausoleum and bury it in time.

The dark night was deep and noisy, and the Gyeonggi Wei closed the Central Axis Avenue early, and every household turned off the lights and candles, and no one dared to disturb the dead of the Queen Mother.

The whole funeral procession was dressed in white, and it was even whiter in the night, like a group of wandering ghosts, ethereal and unreliable.

Emperor Tianzhu and Nie Peixiao sat in the carriage, relatively silent. Behind them was a coffin drawn by eight horses, in which lay the founding empress dowager of the Daling Dynasty, Ye Yingfei.

The imperial mausoleum of the Nie clan is located in Pingling Mountain on the outskirts of Jingzhou, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is high in the south and low in the north, and the east dome is vertical in the west. There are currently six imperial tombs in the imperial tombs, and the six emperors since the founding of the Nanxi Dynasty are buried.

Each imperial tomb is equipped with the emperor's tomb, the queen's tomb, the prince's tomb and the accompanying tomb. As long as he remembered that he would turn into a cold coffin on Pingling Mountain after he died, the two brothers in the car were infinitely emotional.

Hurry up and hurry, the mighty funeral procession finally arrived at the imperial tomb at the end of the day. Emperor Tianzhu and Nie Peixiao got out of the car one after another, both of them were frightened by the light of the morning sun that was shining brightly, and they couldn't open their eyes for a while.

"Holy Majesty, Your Highness, the auspicious time has arrived, and you can send the Queen Mother's coffin to the mausoleum." The official of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly came and whispered in the ears of the two.

Emperor Tianzhu bowed slightly, and looked sideways at Nie Peixiao, who respectfully held a tablet in his arms and solemnly handed it to Emperor Tianzhu. Then, Nie Peixiao took an ever-bright lamp from the hand of the Ministry of Rites, walked in front of the coffin and slowly led the way, followed by Emperor Tianzhu holding the tablet.

The stone steps are endless, leading to the deep and cold Houling underground palace. I don't know how long it took for the two brothers to reach the end of the underground palace - the place where the coffin should be parked.

The funeral officials carried the coffin slowly inside, and solemnly placed it on the Danqi at the end of the underground palace. Emperor Tianzhu and Nie Peixiao stepped forward together, the latter inserting the everlasting lamp on the stone wall behind the Danqi, and the former placing the tablet on the top of the coffin lid.

On the tablet, it is written in large characters in gold lacquer "Filial piety, Zhaoxian, Jingshun, Yide, Chengtianfu, Shengren Empress". This is the name of the Empress Dowager Ye Yingfei, which was personally drafted and written by Emperor Tianzhu. The word "benevolence" and the word "benevolence", how ironic is it?

From now on, Empress Dowager Ye officially became a simple and clear stroke in the history books of the Daling Dynasty - Empress Xiaociren.

After Emperor Tianzhu put the tablet aside, he slowly walked down the Danqi, and at the same time, Nie Peixiao also walked down. At this moment, the two brothers suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and they looked at each other, and both frowned suspiciously.

Nie Peixiao pondered for a moment and took the lead in speaking: "Maybe it's the spices in the coffin." ”

Emperor Tianzhu faintly felt that something was wrong, but he was fine, and there was no sign of poisoning, not to mention that so many people were buried and carried to the coffin, all of them were unharmed, which shows that this spice is not a poison or a medicine.

Thinking of this, Emperor Tianzhu also faintly agreed with Nie Peixiao's statement, which was about the spices in the coffin. He didn't look for the source of this strange fragrance anymore, and walked out of the underground palace with Nie Peixiao.

As an emperor, there are not many steps that need to be done by yourself, so far, the funeral rites that the emperor should do have been completed. But before the end of the funeral ceremony, there are still several essential steps - burning incense, praying, reciting the sacrifice, and weeping...... It's just that the emperor doesn't have to be involved personally.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites waited at the gate of the underground palace, and when they saw Emperor Tianzhu and Nie Peixiao coming out, they immediately stepped forward and said, "Please move the Holy Emperor to the Huanhao Courtyard to wash away the filth and rest for a while." It's time for His Royal Highness King Cheng to burn incense, pray, and mourn the sacrifices. ”

It is an indispensable etiquette to go to the Huanhao Courtyard, and the emperor must bathe and fast when entering and leaving the imperial tomb, and wash away the filthy spirit of the dead in the underground palace. Emperor Tianzhu and Nie Peixiao both knew about these red tapes, so they didn't say anything more, and branched at the gate of the underground palace.

One went to the temple to bathe, and the other went to the main hall to continue the funeral ceremony.

This time for the funeral of the Empress Dowager Ye, Emperor Tianzhu appointed a light heart to accompany him. This is not the scope of the female officer's duties, but out of selfishness, he also wants to teach him to take a look at it, Nie Peixiao still retains brotherhood with him, and he is also benevolent to Empress Dowager Ye.

Emperor Tianzhu walked into the Huanhao Courtyard while thinking about it, and the palace people had already prepared for bathing. Dan Xin leaned on the stone bench outside the soup pool, not knowing what he was thinking.

"The slave (slave maid) has seen the saint." When a group of eunuchs and palace maids saw the sudden appearance of Emperor Tianzhu, they immediately stopped their errands and bowed down one after another. Danxin was shocked by this sudden sound, and then he came back to his senses and knelt down to salute.

In order to allow the emperor to bathe refreshingly during the sacrifice and funeral, when the imperial tomb was built, the officials had dug out their hearts and led the hot spring water of Pingling Mountain to the imperial tomb, and diverted it into the Huanhao courtyard of each imperial tomb, forming a soup pool.

The mist drifted out of the soup pool and slowly diffused throughout the courtyard, covering a layer of mist over the indifferent face. Emperor Tianzhu saw her helplessness in his eyes, pursed his thin lips and walked to the edge of the soup pool, and said in a condensed voice: "Change clothes." ”

"Yes." The two palace maids immediately stepped forward and began to change their clothes for the Heavenly Emperor, while the rest of the people avoided it, and they didn't squint and bowed down to walk outside the Huan Hao Courtyard.

"Stay lightly." Emperor Tianzhu lightly left the next sentence.

Hearing this, the palace maids immediately came to their senses, and the two who were changing clothes for the emperor also hurriedly retreated, leaving only their hearts to be even more helpless in the Huanhao Courtyard.

In order to alleviate this embarrassing atmosphere, Danxin hurriedly trotted into the backyard and came out with a tray. And on the tray is the morning dew among the flowers prepared by the palace maids for the emperor.

Emperor Tianzhu rarely drank tea, and mostly drank water and wine on weekdays. Dan Xin once dared to ask him the reason, and the answer he got was - "Life is in the world, when you are drunk and when you wake up, the word wine is the true meaning." ”

Emperor Tianzhu's answer was very ingenious and vague, but later he also heard Cen Jiang mention it, in fact, the real reason is that the tea has a strong flavor and is easy to be poisoned, while the water is light, and once poisoned, it is easy to be tasted. Therefore, the Emperor rarely drank tea.

The caution of eating and drinking can almost tell a person's temperament. And the suspicion of the Heavenly Emperor was undoubtedly revealed in this matter.

Thinking of this, Dan Xin had already put the tray on the table, picked up the prepared silver needle and tried it, and when he was sure that the water was non-toxic and the cup was non-toxic, he poured a cup and presented it to the Emperor of Heaven.

Emperor Tianzhu took the cup and drank it all, but he didn't mention the bath, but only asked her: "Are you still afraid of me?" ”

Xinxin shook his head: "No, the slave doesn't dare." ”

"Then change my clothes."

Change? I subconsciously wanted to refuse: "This is not a slave's errand......"

"In the Yun Mansion in the past, didn't you serve the Marquis of Lixin and Mrs. Xiu? How? If you change me, you can't do it? Emperor Tianzhu asked rhetorically.

Hearing this, he didn't dare to refuse again, so he had to bite the bullet and say yes.

Emperor Tianzhu usually wears black clothes, but today he deliberately wears a white mourning dress, which shows a bit of peace, not as crazy as usual. Danxin took a deep breath and was forced to change his clothes.

I don't know if I haven't done this errand for a long time, or because I'm scared, my indifferent fingers have been trembling! Originally, the Emperor of Heaven was much taller than her, and she needed to raise her head and raise her arms to untie his placket, but the more anxious she was, the more she couldn't use her strength, and she couldn't even unbutton the emperor's placket!

Emperor Tianzhu has been waiting and watching, and when he saw her shocked to such a point, he only felt endless disappointment and desolation in his heart.

Nearly a month has passed, and she still can't let go!

Finally, he waved his hand slowly and sighed weakly, "That's enough, you go down." ”

Hearing this, he immediately took a step back and bowed to leave.

Emperor Tianzhu watched her withdraw from the Huanhao Courtyard before undressing herself and stepping into the soup pool.

Perhaps it was because he had exhausted his mind these days, or because someone had disappointed him and was powerless, in short, under the soothing effect of the hot spring water, Emperor Tianzhu slowly fell into rest, leaned against the pool wall and fell asleep silently.

Before long, Emperor Tianzhu was woken up by the sound of talking outside the Huan Hao Courtyard, although the voice was quiet, he still heard it clearly. In fact, he didn't sleep for too long, and his long sleep was very light and shallow, and he was easily woken up.

He regained consciousness in an instant, and did not rush to get up from the soup pool, but asked in a low voice, "Who is making noise in the imperial tomb?" ”

The voice outside the courtyard disappeared immediately, and then a delicate palace maid replied: "Your Majesty, the lady of the Fengcha Palace of Ci'en Palace asks to see you." ”

Today, Empress Dowager Ye was buried in the imperial mausoleum, and many eunuchs and maids came to Ci'en Palace, and there was Zihan among them. Emperor Tianzhu frowned and groaned for a moment, and ordered: "Let her in." ”