It is rare to return to the court, after Ling Li went to Funing Hall to visit Emperor Chengde again, he went to Jiqing Palace to visit his mother Cheng Zhaoyi.

During the years he was away from the capital, his mother had aged a lot. From the wrinkles on her forehead and sideburns, you can see that her life in the palace is not easy. After he violently beat the crown prince Ling Chong, she was demoted from Concubine Chen of the second rank to Zhaoyi of the third grade on the grounds that she was teaching the prince to be derelict in her duties. Although she didn't move out of Jiqing Palace, all the grades and configurations were lowered, from the things in the palace to her clothes and accessories, all of them revealed the cold.

"Is the mother alright?" At this moment, Ling Li held his mother's hand, knowing that she would not be happy if she was suppressed by the queen and concubine, but she still asked out loud.

"It's all good." Cheng Zhaoyi carefully looked Ling Li up and down, and saw that there were no new injuries on his body, so he smiled, "Fortunately, there is only this scar on his face." ”

"Mother concubine, rest assured, under the governance of children in Lucheng all these years, the gangsters and barbarians have long since disappeared, how can there be a chance to add new injuries?" Ling Li said with relief.

Cheng Zhaoyi asked again, "This time, how long does your father allow you to stay?" ”

"My father said that it was rare for me to return to the dynasty once, and I was allowed to spend the Qixi Festival."

"Tanabata? That's almost a month away. The smile on Cheng Zhaoyi's face became more and more profound.

"Well, this time I have plenty of time, I will accompany my mother and concubine well."

"What to do with me? Isn't it too troublesome for you to enter the palace every day? Cheng Zhaoyi paused for a moment and said, "You go back and accompany Yuejiao more." You've been married for so many years, and you don't even have a child, where is it like a family......"

"Mother, we ......"

Cheng Zhaoyi interrupted: "Don't make excuses for me, the people say, 'There are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is great', not to mention that you are from a royal family, and you should pay more attention to your heirs." ”

"The mother concubine has forgotten Juanjuan? After the Mid-Autumn Festival, she will be four years old, smart and cute. When she is older, I will send her into the palace to be the companion of the concubine, okay? Referring to her daughter Ling Juan who stayed in Lucheng, Ling Li, who had always been cold, rarely showed a smile.

Cheng Zhaoyi sighed: "Juanjuan is just a girl after all, and her mother is from a low ......."

At the mention of Ling Juan's mother, Lu Chun, Ling Li's face turned cold again. It was a woman who looked very much like Shen Chan, born in the countryside, with a low status, but with a gentle and supple temperament, she let him be critical and reprimanded in every way, and always treated him with all her heart and gentleness. In the hard days of his frontier, he was given great comfort.

After years of accumulation, when he finally had a trace of sincerity towards her, she left him and the newborn Juanjuan away due to postpartum hemorrhage. Lu Chun's death made him depressed for a long time. It was also during this period that Emperor Chengde, with a certain psychology of compensation, gave him Dong Yuejiao, the concubine of the third envoy Dong Chengwu.

Although Yuejiao is occasionally a little petty, she is also a good child who is filial and polite. When she becomes a mother in the future, she will naturally become calm. ”

"Well, the kid got it." Ling Li didn't want his mother to worry about it anymore, so he responded to her instructions.

After having lunch with his mother, after Ling Li said goodbye and left the palace, he went to visit his second brother Ling Zhao in the Zhaowang Mansion near the Vermilion Bird Temple. Ling Li's sudden visit surprised Ling Zhao. He immediately dispersed a group of talkers in the guest hall and led Ling Li to his study.

Seeing that the doormen dressed as scholars respectfully retired, Ling Li said: "But I didn't know that the second brother's house is now full of friends." ”

"What's the deal? It's just that my father gave me the title of 'Tongshu', an idle prince, and these guys who want fame and fortune but can't find the right dock come around to please and flatter. Ling Zhao shook the green jade Wolong fan in his hand and laughed, and then complained, "Then again, if you hadn't lost your title in a fight with the prince back then, I wouldn't have been pestered by them all day long, and I wouldn't even be comfortable looking for flowers and willows." ”

"Second brother said that you are laughing, you are deeply favored by your father, and it is a matter of time before you are crowned a king, what does it have to do with me?" Ling Li said with a smile.

The two brothers have not been masked for several years, and after this sitting, there are endless topics to talk about in the border cities of the national capital.

In the evening, Ling Zhao summoned the guests and retainers, arranged singing, dancing, and feasting, and kept him for a drink.

"The border city is hard, the third brother comes back this time, and he has to have some fun." Ling Zhao smiled and pointed to a graceful Maiko next to him and said, "Liu Ji, you have to accompany the Third Highness tonight." ”

Liu Ji happily accepted the order, and immediately stepped forward to snuggle up to Ling Li, pouring wine and vegetables for him, courteous and considerate. Ling Li is as good as a stream, the beauty is in his arms, the cups come and go, and the wine is hearty.

After three rounds of drinking, Ling Zhao said: "I heard that the third brother held a beauty to the court today, and the court was shocked. ”

"The court is in a shock, but it's not because of the beauty." Ling Li told the story of the barbarian attack on Anyuan and the discussion of the expedition among the ministers. Ling Zhao sighed again and again after hearing this, "Shu Shi'an is really a strange person, his family has encountered such a tragic situation, how can he be so stable?" I don't know if it's a coy gesture, or is it really insensitive? ”

"He is stable today, but not tomorrow." Ling Li said coldly.

Ling Zhao said with a smile: "In this way, I should go to the palace tomorrow to see the excitement." ”

"By the way, I didn't see Ling Chong when I entered the court today, and he is not in the national capital?" Ling Li seemed to ask casually.

"The third brother doesn't know that since the general of the auxiliary country married into the East Palace, he has not been able to come out all these years. A few years ago, the good news suddenly came, and Queen Zhao cried with joy, saying that the wish she made in the Hidden Dragon Temple had appeared. Three days ago, the crown princess gave birth to Lin'er safely, and the prince followed the queen's decree and personally took a tall statue to send Guanyin to the Hidden Dragon Temple to repay the vows. ”

Ling Li was silent after hearing this, he raised his head and drank the wine in his glass, and suddenly got up to say goodbye.

Ling Zhao said in surprise: "The third brother of my newly rehearsed dance song "Toad Palace Yarn Shadow" has not seen it yet, why is it going to leave?" ”

"I had a lot of fun chatting before, so much so that I forgot that Yuejiao was still waiting for me at home. This time, my father allowed me to stay for a month, and I will come back to disturb my second brother in a few days. With that, Ling Li pushed away Liu Ji, who was obsessed like a spirit snake beside him, and left directly.

"The slave family is incompetent, and he failed to serve His Royal Highness well, please punish the prince." Ling Li's figure disappeared in front of the Drunken Flower Hall, and Liu Ji knelt down to blame herself.

Ling Zhao waved his hand and said with a smile: "That's it, it's not your fault. Except for the dead former crown princess, there is no woman in this world who can enter his eyes. ”

"The slave family is curious, I don't know how beautiful the former princess is, and she will provoke His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Third Highness brothers to turn against each other?" Ryu Ji looked fascinated.

"Far less than you."

"Why does the prince make fun of the slave family, how can such a legendary woman be inferior to the slave family?" Yoo Ji looked incredulous.

"Tianxiang Building has a picture of the celebrities of the Xixi Flower Festival on that day, another day. Just take a look. ”