The smallpox disaster was fierce, and Barya's daughters did not escape the poison and died before Chinese New Year's Eve.

The fourth princess and the sixth princess still have a glimmer of life, but there are as many as a dozen eunuchs and palace maids who have died in the palace, and even young ones have paid with their lives.

The whole capital is spread with the panic of the plague, and there is no need to be afraid that the enemy will take advantage of it at this time, after all, no one will have a hard time with smallpox.

But this is by no means something to be happy about, seeing the young child die young, in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, immediately cremated and buried, not even a decent afterlife, Yu'er fell into deep self-blame.

Yuan Xi, like others, was locked up in Jingren Palace with Xuan Ye, and when she got the news, the three girls had already died, and she was shocked to hear the bad news, how did she explain to Barya, but Balya entrusted the child to her.

Pomegranate persuaded: "Miss, it's good that Balya Fujin is in front, and there is no need to bear this pain, and their mother and daughter are also complete." ”

Yuan Xi was heartbroken: "Such good children, they are still so young......"

"E-niang." Xuan Ye came in from outside the door and walked in front of his mother.

"E-Niang is fine." Yuan Xi immediately put away her tears, wiped her face and said, "What's the matter, aren't you reading a book, are there any words you don't know?" ”

Xuan Ye asked: "Da Li Zi said that the third sister and the fifth sister are dead, is it true?" ”

Yuan Xi choked: "She didn't survive and went to find your Aunt Balya." ”

Xuan Ye asked with tears in his eyes: "Eniang, is it my fault, did I bring smallpox into the palace?" ”

"No, by no means!" Yuan Xi was shocked, hugged his son tightly and said, "It's been years since you had smallpox, you see that none of the people who follow you are fine, Da Li Zi follows you every day, isn't he okay?" Pomegranate has taken care of you outside the palace for so long, isn't it good? Silly boy, it's not your fault, before you got smallpox, there were thousands of people in this world who got such a disease, is it also your fault? ”

Xuan Ye was sad for the loss of his sister, and cried in his mother's arms, it has only been a few years, and he still remembers the fear and hardship brought to him by smallpox, no matter how smart and stable he is, he is still a child after all.

"With Eniang here, Xuan Ye is not afraid." Yuan Xi comforted his son, "Don't be sad, the third sister and the fifth sister have gone to reunite with their aunts, although their lives are short, they can be born in the family of the emperor in the prosperous era, enjoy all the glory and wealth, and be favored, they are the ones who came to the world to enjoy happiness." It's time, it's time to go. ”

"E-niang......" Xuan Ye sobbed and said, "That day, Ama came to A's office. ”

Yuan Xi's blood all over her body seemed to be coagulated in an instant, her body became stiff and sluggish, she let go of her embrace with difficulty, looked at the pomegranate, and every word was like pulling her heart with a blunt knife: "Qianqing Palace, is there any news?" ”

In the Qianqing Palace, it is very peaceful.

It happened to be sealed at the end of the year, and it happened to be an epidemic, so there was no need to ascend to the dynasty and not to see the minister, although the bad news came one after another, but Fu Lin was very calm.

None of those children grew up with him, but only the occasional intimacy, and he never even really experienced what it was like to be a father.

The children are gone, and he can't squeeze out tears of sadness, so he can only pray silently in his heart, chanting sutras for them, and wishing them to be free of illness and disaster in the next life.

These days, Fu Shi often stands under the eaves of the main hall, looking at the pale and dazzling sky, and gradually feels that the seventeen years in the capital are like a dream.

Sometimes I remember something, sometimes I forget everything.

At this moment, the sun is setting, there are palace people carrying ladders to hang lanterns, the big red lanterns, bright and dazzling, Fu Lin asked: "What do you do with hanging lanterns?" ”

The great eunuch responded: "Emperor, the Queen Mother said that Chinese New Year's Eve, the palace should have a bit of a festival, the epidemic will definitely pass, and people will conquer the sky." But the lantern was hung and could not be lit. ”

"E-Niang is so strong at all times." Fu Lin said that he took the lantern from the eunuch's hand, climbed the two ladders himself, and reached out to hang the lantern.

"Your Majesty, be careful......" The eunuchs below nervously surrounded.

Fu Lin half-raised his hand and stopped in a daze.

"Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

Fu Lin woke up, silently got down the ladder, didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Back in the warm pavilion, he gently rolled up his sleeves, on the left arm, three red bumps appeared, on the right arm, can also count four or five, just now when he hung the lantern, the wrist from the sleeve of the shirt, he saw.

Fu Lin walked over to the dressing mirror and ripped open his shirt......

This is the most peaceful year since the entry of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese New Year's Eve, because of the smallpox epidemic, everyone is in danger, and there is no festive atmosphere inside and outside the city.

But on Chinese New Year's Eve, as soon as the wind passed, the wind was raging, and the weather that had been holding back for a long time became cold in the wind.

The wind blew all night, and on the morning of New Year's Day in the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, the sun rose, and the clear blue sky returned to the capital.

This bright sun, this blue sky, makes people feel the hope of life, Yu'er stood in the courtyard of Cining Palace, stared for a long time, her hands clenched into fists, as if she wanted to fight with the sky.

She was ruthless, and on the first day of the new year, she sent the fourth princess and the sixth princess out of the palace, and Fuquan and the second princess, as well as the three infant little brothers, continued to stay in the elder brother's observation.

In the name of Fulin, Yu'er allocated pensions to the families of the sick people in Beijing, counted the palace maids and eunuchs who died of illness, and compensated their families.

It was announced that if there was no increase in new epidemics after seven days, the ban in the capital would be lifted, and after the 21st, if there was no increase in new epidemics, the ban would be lifted in the Forbidden City.

On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the people of the capital pushed out of the window, and the snow shrouded silently.

In an instant, the capital finally entered winter.

Yu'er stepped on the snow and walked into the courtyard step by step, suddenly remembering that in the winter of twenty-eight years ago, she was wearing Su Mala's new red windbreaker, and she had just come out of confinement to go to Qingning Palace to ask her aunt for peace.

Huang Taiji walked from under the phoenix and pulled her out of the snow nest......

When Yu'er heard the footsteps, she looked back, but the person who came suddenly knelt on the ground and trembled and said, "The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother...... The emperor, the emperor, he ......"

"What's wrong?" Yu'er's heart clenched tightly.

"The emperor has a pox." The messenger fell on the ground and trembled.

Yu'er shook her body and fell into the snow, and the palace maids stepped forward to help her, but that person would never come to the snow to pull him again, and he would never ...... again

"The Queen Mother? Where are you going? ”

"The Queen Mother's ......"

When everyone came to their senses, the queen mother had already broken through the door, and they rushed up one after another and stopped them desperately.

Su Mala came out of the pantry, and heard that Fu Lin had a pox, and it was also a thunderbolt, but he still had a little sense, knelt down in front of Yu'er and said, "I can't go, what should I do if I get infected?" You can't leave Cining Palace. ”

"My son, my son......" Yu'er cried, "Fulin, my child. ”